


The Many Duties of a Manservant

by orphan_account



Series: Click Here To Know About The Author Of The Orphaned Fics in this Series [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 15 chapters long, A chapter that summarises the whole story with art and my favourite dialogues, ANY kink that you're looking for, Adorable, And I'm just gonna end this with some random tags becasue the list is getting too long, And there's also a lot of fluff like, Angry Kissing, Art, Bad Dirty Talk, Bad Flirting, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Bathing/Washing, Bets & Wagers, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, Birthday Smut, Blushing, Blushing Merlin, Bondage, Bonus, Bonus Chapter, Bottom Merlin (Merlin), Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Chaptered, Coming In Pants, Coming Out, Confessional Sex, Confessions, Conversations, Cover Art, Crossdressing, Crossdressing Kink, Crushes, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Denial of Feelings, Digital Art, Dirty Talk, Dresses, Dry Humping, Enjoy!, Erotic Games, Erotic Massage, Erotica, Eventual Smut, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Facial Shaving, Falling In Love, Fanart, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, First Meetings, First Time, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Fondling, Forced Crossdressing, Forehead Kisses, Funny, Gay, Gentle Kissing, Gentle Sex, Groping, Happy Ending, Hilarious, Huddling For Warmth, Hugs, Jealous Arthur, Jealousy, Light Bondage, Long, Loss of Virginity, Love, Love Bites, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic Revealed, Male-Female Friendship, Married Couple, Massage, Meet-Cute, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Merlin's Neckerchief (Merlin), Moaning, Mutual Pining, Mutually Unrequited, NSFW Art, Neck Kissing, Non-Consensual Groping, Non-Consensual Kissing, Non-Consensual Touching, Oblivious Arthur, Oh, Okay so this is gonna involve quite a lot of non-con, POV Merlin, Pet Names, Pick-Up Lines, Post-Magic Reveal, Romantic Fluff, Rope Bondage, Rough Kissing, Seduction, Sexual Fantasy, Sexual Tension, Shaving, Shyness, Slow Burn, Smut, Teasing, There's just one more thing, Tickle Fights, Tickling, Top Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Touchy-Feely, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Wait!, accidental confessions, and finally as of the smut we have, baths, but trust me, can be found here, confessions during a fight, everyone is happy, fingers brushing, gentle touching, in fact it is the exact opposite of that, it is unbelievably fluffy, long fic, pinned against the wall, this fic is NOT dark, you can look but you can't touch, ♡♡♡
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:53:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 20,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24219946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Being the manservant of a Crown-Prince was not an easy task. It involved washing his clothes, polishing his armour, mucking out the stables, cleaning his chambers, helping him dress up, seeing him naked every day, bathing him, fending off his sexual advances, and so much more. . .Did I mention fending off his sexual advances?Just checking.
Relationships: Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Click Here To Know About The Author Of The Orphaned Fics in this Series [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785454
Comments: 319
Kudos: 887
Collections: Extraordinary Merlin FanFics, MERLIN, MERTHUR, Merlin, Merlin Fanfiction, Merlin Stories to Reread, Merthur fics, merthur fics





	1. Three Mistakes One Should Never Make

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my new Merthur fic. I don't know how many chapters this is gonna take for me to finish writing. But I DO know that this is going to be funny, cute and insanely hot! Hope you guys like it! Leave a kudos if you do. Don't forget to tell me what you think in the comments! ❤😁😀
> 
> (P.S. Just read the tags and you'll know what this is about!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are three mistakes one should never make in one's life. Merlin, being the idiot he is, makes them the very first day he steps into Camelot.

When Merlin first met Arthur, he _did not_ mean to flirt. But then his destiny inevitably unfurled before him.  
“Hey. That’s enough.”, Merlin said. 

**Mistake number 1** : Not keeping his mouth shut.

“ _What_??” The blonde spat.  
“You’ve had your fun, my friend.”  
The prat strutted forward. “Do I know you?”  
And that’s how it started. With argument and jibes and throwing around harsh retorts. But somewhere along the line, _and Merlin has no idea exactly where,_ the conversation became _unbelievably flirty_.  
“Tell me, _Merlin_.”, the blonde said, smirking. “ _Do you know how to walk on your knees?”_  
Now if _that_ was not suggestive, Merlin didn’t know what was.  
“No.”  
“Would you like me to help you?”  
Merlin was tempted to say something equally flirty like ‘ _Yes, please_!’, but then he remembered that this was the same man who was throwing knives at an innocent bloke for a target.  
“I wouldn’t if I were you.”, Merlin said.  
“Why?”, the prat scoffed. “ What are you going to do to me?”  
Once again, _extremely_ inappropriate replies formed in Merlin's head, but he settled for something just _mildly_ inappropriate. “ _You have no idea.”_  
“Be my guest! Come on. Come on!” He drawled. “ _Come on_!”

 **Mistake number 2:** Fighting (and flirting) with a guy whom Merlin didn't even know. Turned out the prat was a prince.  


Within just a few hours of being in Camelot, Merlin had successfully landed himself in jail.

◇◇◇

Merlin’s second meeting with Arthur didn’t go that well, either.  
After the prat said, _“I could take you apart with one blow.”_ , and Merlin replied, _“I could take you apart with less than that_.”, they started fighting.  
‘ _Fighting_ ’, as in chasing each other around, swinging a mace in one hand, and saying seductive things like " _Do you want to give up_?” and “ _You’re in trouble now. . .”_  
By the end of their ‘ _fight_ ', Merlin was lying on his back on the ground, panting, with the prince towering over him, smirking in pride of having asserted his dominance.  
But when the guards pulled up Merlin and tried to drag him away, Arthur stopped them and said that even though Merlin was an idiot, he was a brave one. (Merlin took that as a compliment.)  
“There’s something about you, Merlin. . .”, Arthur said. _“I just can’t put my finger on it.”_  
Merlin didn’t know which one the Prince had sensed . . . His magic, or his homosexuality. _Neither_ bode well for him.

◇◇◇

The conversation with the ‘Great Dragon' only complicated things even more.  
It had said that Arthur was Merlin’s destiny. That they were two sides of the same coin. That they complete each other.  
Now, all this sounded really romantic, like it was straight out of a love story. But instead of a _Prince Charming,_ there was a _Prince Prat,_ and instead of a _Snow White_ , there was a _sassy warlock_.  
Merlin didn’t see how he could ever choose to serve such a clot-pole, like it said in his destiny. But the surprises of the day were not yet over.  


◇◇◇

 **Mistake number 3:** Saving Arthur’s royal ass from a murderous witch's dagger.

“You saved my boy’s life.”, The King said. "A debt must be repaid.”  
“Oh, _well_. . .”, Merlin began, but Uther cut him off.  
“Don’t be so modest. You shall be rewarded.”  
“No, honestly, you don’t have to, Your Highness.”  
“No, absolutely!”  
Now, Merlin was really expecting some _damn_ good reward. _So what the King said next crushed all his hopes._  
“You shall be awarded with a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur’s manservant.”  
“ _Father_!”, Arthur protested, but it was said and done. Merlin had already made the three biggest mistakes of his life, and now he had fallen into a ditch from which climbing out was nearly impossible.  
The blonde turned to him, glaring. He grabbed Merlin’s arm roughly, pulled him close and growled into his ear, sending shivers down his spine. “Brace yourself, _Merlin_ , because from now on, I’m going to make your life a living hell.”  
_Oh boy._ . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	2. Scrubbing and Rinsing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh, for heaven’s sake! Why are you so hesitant to bathe me? It’s just. . . scrubbing and rinsing!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty long, but I'm sure you guys will love it 😉❤ Tell me what you think in the comments!

“And finally, I make his bed, bid him goodnight and leave?”, Merlin asked.  
“That’s right.”, Gwen replied, smiling.  
Merlin was glad to have Gwen. He did not know the ABC of serving a prince. He had no idea about the duties it involved, the time when each of them must be carried out, or how he must address his master.  
Gwen had clearly told him what to do from morning to night, based on her experience of serving Morgana and her knowledge of Arthur’s routine.  
“Thanks a lot, Gwen.”, Merlin beamed. “What would I have done without you?”  
“Oh, it’s nothing!”, she replied, smiling sweetly. “Come to me if you need more help. You know I’d do anything for you.” And then she blushed and began stuttering. “Well— not _anything_! _Obviously_ , not anything. . .” She was beet red now. “I — I’ll see you around, Merlin!”, she said and scurried away.  
“ _That was strange_. . .”, Merlin muttered. He wondered if Gwen always got so flustered this easily.  
Shaking his head, Merlin proceeded towards Arthur’s chambers to wake up the Prince and officially start his duties as a manservant.

◇◇◇

Merlin entered the room and gently closed the door behind him. He set the breakfast on the table. Following Gwen’s advice, he walked to the window and pulled open the screens, letting in some sunlight.

He approached the bed. The covers were pulled up to the headboard; so the Prince was completely obscured.   
Merlin cleared his throat and called loudly, “Sire?”   
No response.  
“Sire, it’s time to wake up!”, he said cheerfully.  
The form on the bed didn’t budge.   
Merlin sighed, a small smile forming on his lips. “ _What a Dollophead_. . .”, he muttered, shaking his head.  
“A _what_?”, said a voice right behind his ear. Merlin almost jumped out of his skin and whipped around.  
He saw a shirtless Arthur, glaring at him, mere inches away.   
_“I— I didn’t say anything._ ”, Merlin squeaked. All the sass and cheek from the previous day had disappeared without a trace.  
“ _Oh yes, you did_. “, Arthur took a step closer. “Now tell me what the _hell_ ‘Dollophead’ means.”  
Merlin swallowed, and choked out, “It’s just a word I made up!”  
“ _What. Does. It. Mean??”_  
Voice barely audible, Merlin said, “ _A. . . thick-headed. . . idiot.”_  
Arthur was looking livid. “Well, that’s ironic, “, he growled, “since _you_ were the one trying to rouse a pillow and blankets.”  
And just like that, the blonde walked away to the table and sat down to eat. “Prepare my bath.”, he called.  
Merlin heaved a sigh of relief. Just a face-to-face conversation with the Prince had rendered him terrified and breathless. _God, this was not going to be easy. . ._

◇◇◇

In a few minutes, Merlin had prepared a tub of hot water. “It’s ready, Sire!”, Merlin called to Arthur, who had disappeared behind the dressing screen. The warlock headed towards the door to give the blonde some privacy for bathing.  
_“Where the hell are you off to?_ ”, Merlin heard the Prince ask from behind, and turned to reply. His jaw dropped.  
Standing there was Arthur, _stark-naked_ and not the slightest bit self-conscious. Merlin spun around to face the door, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. “You— _You’re not wearing anything_!”, he blurted out.  
“In your hometown,”, Arthur asked, his voice drawing closer, “ _do people bathe with their clothes on?”_  
And then suddenly, Arthur was right behind him. Merlin could feel the blonde’s gaze on him and his hot breath on the back of his neck.  
“Alright then. . .”, Merlin said, his voice shaking. “I’ll get going, and you can enjoy your bath.”  
But before he had even taken a step forward, he felt Arthur grab his wrist in a firm grip. “And once you leave,”, the blonde said in a low voice, “ _Who’s going to bathe me?”_  
Merlin barked out a laugh despite his predicament. “ _You don’t know to bathe yourself_?” Gwen never mentioned having to wash the Prince.  
The grip on his wrist tightened, and Merlin felt Arthur’s lips brush the shell of his ear. All the mirth vanished from his face and his tummy did a backflip.  
“When you’re talking to me,”, the prince purred into his ear, “ _look_ at me.”  
And then he let go of his hand and stepped back. Merlin took a deep breath, braced himself and turned towards the blonde.  
He tried really hard to just look at Arthur’s face, but his eyes were drawn towards the rest of his body. It looked like it was chiseled and sculpted by the Gods themselves. Merlin felt his cheeks grow hot as his eyes roamed from the Prince’s chest to his abs to his— ‘ _Oh, sweet lord._ . .’, Merlin thought.  
“ _Like what you see?_ ” Merlin looked up and saw the prat smirking. “ _Because you’re gonna have to see it everyday.”_  
Arthur turned around and sashayed across to the bathtub, flaunting that perfect ass, until he climbed in and sat down in the water.  
“Come on then, _Merlin_. Chop-chop!”, he called, his voice amused and satisfied, as if he were savoring Merlin’s discomfort.  
“I can’t bathe you.”, Merlin said in what he thought was a bold voice. He had some dignity, you know?  
“Yes, you _can_ , and you _will_.”, Arthur said nonchalantly. “That’s an order.”  
“I can’t do anything and everything just because you’re ordering me to.”, Merlin said defiantly.   
“That’s exactly what you _must_ do, if you want to keep your job.”, Arthur said, starting to sound impatient. “In fact, I can even order you to —"  
“What? _Sleep with you_?”, Merlin asked, scoffing.  
Arthur stared at him incredulously for a moment. “I was going to say _tap dance_.”, he said indignantly. “ _God_ , what do you take me for, Merlin? Ordering my servants to sleep with me just because they are at my disposal, is way below my standards.”  
"And _this_ isn’t?”, Merlin asked, gesturing towards the bathtub, and then himself.   
Arthur groaned in frustration. “Oh, _for heaven’s sake_! Why are you so hesitant to bathe me? It’s just. . . scrubbing and rinsing!”  
Merlin sighed. “ _Fine_. . . But don’t speak as if you haven’t slept with all of your previous manservants.”  
This was Merlin's way of subtly asking Arthur if he was gay. ( _It didn’t work. ._ .)  
The blonde glared daggers at him. “I haven’t laid a _finger_ on any of my servants.”, his snarled.  
Well, that didn’t give Merlin a straight answer. _Or_ a gay answer.  
“ _Whatever_. . .”, Merlin muttered, walking to the tub and dragging a stool to sit behind the Prince. He picked up the cloth that lay on the floor, wet it in the water and rubbed it with soap. When it was foamy enough, he cautiously placed it on Arthur’s cheek, his other hand gently holding the blonde’s head in place. He tried not to meet Arthur’s piercing gaze. When he rinsed his face with a mug of water, the Prince closed his eyes.  
Next, Merlin moved to Arthur’s shoulder, and began scrubbing tenderly in a circular motion. He placed a hand on Arthur’s other shoulder for support, and felt his warm and wet skin under his fingers.  
He made his way down to his chest. His finger brushed Arthur’s nipple, and Merlin tried not to grin at the Prince’s sharp intake of breath.  
To reach Arthur’s stomach, Merlin had to pull the stool closer and bend over, so that he was practically hugging the blonde from behind, his face right next to Arthur’s.  
“So. . . _Have you slept with men_?”, Merlin asked bluntly.  
“ _What makes you think you can ask me such questions?”_ , Arthur asked irritably.   
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. . .”  
“I know I don’t _have_ to tell you anything, Merlin. _I_ am the Prince, remember?”  
Merlin didn’t say anything in response and worked in silence as he scrubbed Arthur’s back. Then he stood up and dragged the stool to the other side of the tub. He lifted Arthur’s leg, propped his foot on his chest and began scrubbing.  
Out of the blue, Arthur said, “Both men and women.”  
It took a moment for Merlin to realize that the Prince was answering his last question. ‘ _Oh_. . .’, he thought.  
“Oh.”, he said.  
“What about you?”, Arthur asked. Merlin looked up at him. The blonde was wearing an uncertain expression on his face.  
“I — I haven’t slept with _anyone_ yet, for that matter. . .”, Merlin said truthfully. (Well, he had had a crush on his friend, Prince William when he was in Ealdor. But his feelings were unrequited. He lost Will completely when the he learned about Merlin’s magic.) “But yeah, I’m. . . I’m into men.”, Merlin finished   
“ _Ha_! I knew it!”, Arthur said, grinning.  
“What?”, Merlin asked, shifting to the other leg.  
“I knew it the moment I met you. It was written all over your face.”  
Merlin smirked. “Is that why you were flirting with me?”  
Arthur visibly reddened. _“I — That was not flirting! I was merely—”_  
“Can you at least wash your privates by yourself?”, Merlin asked.  
“ _Of course_ I can!”, Arthur said indignantly and snatched the towel from Merlin’s hand. When he stood up, Merlin turned around so that he was facing the other side. “I’m not stupid.”, Arthur said.  
“ _That’s debatable_. . .”, Merlin muttered.  
“ _I can have you in the stocks for that.”_ , he heard Arthur warn from behind.   
“My apologies, sire.”  
Once Arthur had stepped out of the bath, he dried his feet on the mat. Merlin dabbed him with a towel to dry him.  
Then he helped Arthur put on his clothes and armor, trying as hard as he could not to let his hands linger anywhere longer than necessary.  
Once he was done, Arthur said, “That will be all for now. While I’m gone, make the bed, clean the room, polish my sword and muck out the stables.”  
“Yes, sire.”  
“You may leave.”

◇◇◇

“I served him breakfast, and prepared his bath.”, Merlin was telling Gwen that night. “And then he made me bathe him.”  
“He _what_?”, Gwen asked incredulously.  
“He made me bathe him. I mean, how could a grown man not know how to wash himslef?”  
“Merlin, Arthur _does_ know how to bathe himself.”  
“And how would _you_ know that?”, Merlin asked.  
“ _I know_ , because I was good friends with his former manservant, George. He served Arthur for many years. From what he had told me about his daily routine, bathing Arthur was definitely not part of his duties. The Prince used to do it himself. It’s strange that Arthur’s making _you_ do it for him. . .”  
Merlin thought about what this implied. What it implied, was nothing good. “ _Very strange, indeed. . ."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	3. Two Observations and Five Incidents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin has been making a few observations about Arthur. It doesn't end well. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter is quite adorable. 😋 Hope you feel the same! ❤ Tell me what you think in the comments!

Over the two weeks for which Merlin had been serving Arthur, the warlock had made two important observations.

 **Observation-1:** Arthur was a gem of a person. Beneath the facade of being rough and tough and stone-hearted, was a man who cared about others. He pretended to be indifferent, cold and impassive. But in reality, Arthur was kind, generous and yearning for love. Even though the Prince claimed that he didn’t have the least bit of affection or respect for Merlin, it was quite obvious that he was lying to keep his walls up. Arthur cared about Merlin. A lot.

 **Observation-2:** As the days passed, Arthur was getting more and more physically close to Merlin. He called it horseplay, but Merlin felt that the Prince was being unnecessarily handsy when it came to his manservant. He had noticed five incidents that supported this inference.

The first one involved Arthur ruffling Merlin’s hair. He did it in a casual way, but every time, his hand lingered on Merlin’s head for longer than what was acceptable as ‘ _friendly_ ’. The Prince's fingers would weave through Merlin's hair, and then slowly drop down to the nape of his neck, caressing the sensitive skin there. Merlin always felt a tingling sensation every time Arthur did that, and he had no idea why.

The second incident involved a horse.  
They had just returned from a hunting trip. “Groom my horse, Merlin.”, Arthur called as he left. Later in the horse shed, Merlin was brushing the steed's chestnut brown fur, when Arthur entered. “What are you doing here?”, Merlin asked.   
“I can do what I want, _Merlin_.”, The blonde said. ( _Typical Arthur. . .)_  
Then he walked up to the horse and began petting it idly. Merlin smiled. “Seriously, what _are_ you doing?”  
“ _God_ , can’t a man show some love to the animal he rides everyday?”  
“So you’re telling me that you came all the way here to just randomly pet your horse.”  
“ _Yes_ , Merlin. Problem?”   
Merlin shook his head smiling, and continued brushing the horse.   
Gradually, Arthur moved his hand closer and closer to Merlin’s. And then, just like that, he gently brushed their little fingers together.  
Merlin had touched Arthur in so many places before while bathing and dressing him. . . But this was different. _This was much more intimate._  
Merlin blushed and stilled his hand. Then Arthur literally began stroking Merlin’s wrist with his thumb.  
The warlock got all flustered, and sputtered, “ _Wh—What are you doing?”_  
“That’s the third time you’re asking that, Mer—“, Arthur began, but then he looked up at Merlin’s face. “ _Why the hell are you blushing?”_  
Merlin looked away, resuming to groom the horse. “I’m not.”  
“ _Yes, you are!_ Your ears are red!” The prat was grinning, as if he had seen the most amusing thing ever. “Jeez, Merlin. You’ve touched me _all over,_ brass-necked, but a simple brush of our fingers has got you blushing??”  
Merlin was sure that he was beet red now. “ _I’m not blushing!”_  
“Yeah, whatever you say. . .”, Arthur muttered and walked away chuckling.

The third time was even more absurd. This one involved a horse, too.  
They were returning to the palace after visiting a village regarding an illness. The horses stopped and the knights descended. But right before Merlin could get down from his horse, Arthur approached him, gently grabbed his waist and pulled him down. Merlin almost yelped when Arthur’s hands touched him.   
Then, as if that was the most casual thing to do, Arthur smiled and walked away.  
  
The fourth incident was downright _ridiculous_.  
Arthur was training with the knights. He was sweating and grunting and fighting flawlessly.  
Merlin, who was watching from near the sword stand, sighed dreamily. But when Arthur began walking towards him for a break, Merlin regained his composure and set his face into a neutral expression.  
“What do you think?”, the Prince asked expectantly, downing the water Merlin had offered.  
“Well, I’ve seen better.”, Merlin lied. He was _not_ going to give the prat the satisfaction of having impressed him.  
Arthur scoffed and gave Merlin an amused look. He looked around to check if anyone was watching, and then leaned closer to Merlin and _slapped his ass._  
The boy jumped, gasping loudly, eyes wide. “ _What the—”_  
But Arthur was already walking back to the field, smirking. When he was halfway there, he turned around, grinning wide, and winked and Merlin.

_What the hell??_

_But the fifth incident absolutely takes the cake_.  
Merlin was in the Prince’s chambers, making his bed. It was a hot day, so he had removed his overcoat and neckerchief, and placed them on the table.  
Suddenly, Merlin felt something soft and wet touch the nape of his neck, just for a second. He whipped around, to find Arthur standing right behind him.   
Merlin looked at him incredulously. “ _Did you just_ —”  
“Yes.”, Arthur replied, slightly smiling. “Your neck was right there, small and pale and adorable, so—"  
“ _So you kissed it_??”, Merlin asked, his voice high. Arthur just shrugged and walked away.

Merlin had no idea why Arthur was doing all this, nor did he know why he felt butterflies in his stomach every time Arthur touched him. But he was going to find out, before Arthur does something even more preposterous!


	4. Just Two Idiots, Saving Each Other's Lives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin drinks from the goblet that Nimueh had poisoned, to save Arthur's life. Arthur sets out on a perilous journey to find the leaf of the Mortaeus flower, to save Merlin's life. In short, they are just two idiots, saving each other's lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a chapter that focuses more on Arthur's and Merlin's relationship and bond. I guess you could call it a game-changer 😋😁 Hope y'all like it. Tell me what you think in the comments ❤❤❤

“Stop! It’s poison! Don’t drink it!”

Merlin snatched the goblet from Arthur’s hand. 

“ _What_?”, the King questioned.   
“ _Merlin_! What are you doing??”, Arthur asked.  
Every pair of eyes in the hall was on Merlin.  


“Bayard laced Arthur’s goblet,”, Merlin said, “ _with poison.”_  
“This is an outrage!”, the accused King roared, pulling out his sword. His men imitated him.

“Order your men to put down their swords.”, Uther said. “You’re outnumbered.”  
“I will not allow this insult to go unchallenged!”, Bayard said.  
Ignoring him, Uther turned to Merlin. “On what grounds do u base these accusations?”

“I’ll handle this.”, Arthur said, walking towards the warlock. “Merlin, you _idiot_ , have you been at the sloe cider again?”  
“Unless you want to be strung up,”, Uther snarled, “you will tell me why you think it’s poisoned, _now_.”  
“He was seen lacing it.”, Merlin replied.  
“By whom?”

Merlin looked at Kara. That _poor, innocent_ handmaid. . . Merlin had promised her that he wouldn’t let her get into trouble for telling him about Bayard's plans.  
“I can’t say.”  
“I won’t listen to this anymore!”, Bayard said impatiently.

“Pass me the goblet.”, Uther ordered, and then turned to his fuming guest. “If you’re telling the truth, you have nothing to fear, do you?”  
Bayard scoffed and extended a hand to take the goblet.   
“ _No_.”, Uther said. “If this does prove to be poisoned, I want the pleasure of killing you myself.” Then he turned to Merlin. “ _He’ll_ drink.”

Arthur turned to his father, alarmed. “But if it’s poisoned, he’ll die!”  
“Then we will know he was telling the truth.”, the King replied.  
“And what if he lives?”, Bayard asked.  
“Then you have my apologies, and you can do with him as you wish.”

Arthur looked hysterical. “ _Merlin_ , apologize! This is a mistake. _I’ll_ drink it!”, he offered, reaching for the goblet.  
“No, no, no! _No_!”, Merlin said, pulling away the goblet from Arthur’s reach. “It’s alright. . .”

He had no idea why he was doing this for a man he had met hardly a month ago. He very well knew the drink was poisoned, and yet he was willing to sacrifice his life for Arthur.   
When Merlin raised the goblet to his lips and downed the liquid, he wondered what happened to the boy who told the Great Dragon, ‘ _If someone wants to kill Arthur, I’d gladly give them a hand.’_  
Once he swallowed the last drop, he waited for some sign. Some sign of imminent death. But it didn’t come.   
Had Kara lied? Was she mistaken? Was Merlin's magic preventing the poison from having an effect on him? He didn’t know.

“It’s fine.”, Merlin announced, holding up the empty goblet. "He's all yours.”, Uther told Bayard dismissively.

Shame scraped at the bottom of Merlin’s throat, as the guards approached him  
But wait. . . It wasn’t shame. . . _It was pain._  
Merlin touched his Adam’s apple. He coughed and grunted and choked. Suddenly, excruciating pain spread from his throat to every part of his body.   
As he dropped his goblet and fell to the floor, Merlin looked at Arthur. The absolute fear etched on the Prince’s face was the last thing he saw, before he closed his eyes.

Then everything went black.

◇◇◇

 _Arthur_. . .

Merlin saw Arthur. The Prince was riding towards a forest. The forest of Baloch. Wait, how did Merlin know that? No idea.

 _Arthur_. . .

What was that dollophead doing? Doesn’t he know that the forest is full of dangers? And then suddenly everything was going black. Merlin muttered an incantation, and he could see Arthur again. He kept repeating the incantation. He had to be with Arthur in order to protect him.  
Someone was sitting on a rock. It was a lady. She was crying. Arthur approached her.   
When Merlin saw her face, he was confused. It was Kara. What was she doing there? She is supposed to be in the palace. In Camelot.  
There was a deafening roar. Arthur turned, and saw a terrifying beast in front of him. It was a Cockatrice. Those are ferocious monsters. A drop of its venom is enough to kill the victim. ( _How the hell did Merlin know that?)_  
It was getting dark again. Merlin muttered the incantation.  
He could see the cockatrice lying on the ground, impaled on Arthur’s sword. _Thank God._ . .  
Kara was telling Arthur to go inside the cave with her. But the cave is crawling with ginormous vicious spiders! Who was this woman, and why was she leading Arthur to his death?

 _Arthur. . . It’s a trap. . . It’s a trap._ . .

Arthur was inside the cave, standing on a narrow ledge. Beneath the ledge was an abyss, deep and dark and dangerous. Kara was standing well behind Arthur in a much safer corner. She muttered something under her breath, and the ledge began to crack. An incantation. _She was a sorceress!_  
Arthur jumped just before the ledge completely broke and fell down into the darkness. He caught hold of the wall on the other side. Kara left the cave, leaving Arthur hanging there, to be taken care of by the spiders. Arthur had dropped his torch when he jumped. Merlin couldn’t see what was happening.

_Arthur. . .It’s too dark. . . Too dark. . ._

Merlin muttered another incantation and immediately a glowing orb appeared behind Arthur, lighting up the scene. Merlin enchanted the orb to lead the Prince to safety. But Arrhur was not following the light. _What was he doing?_ He was extending his arm to reach something. Something growing from a crack in the stone wall. _The morteaus flower._

_Leave them, Arthur! Go save yourself. Follow the light._

Finally Arthur plucked the flower and stashed it in a pouch tied to his belt. The spiders were so close. They had almost reached him. He had to rush to make it out of the cave.

_Faster! Climb! Go faster. . . Follow the light! Move!_

Arthur followed the orb and climbed as quickly as he could with his bare hands. Finally, _finally_ , he made it. He climbed out into the sunlight, mounted his horse and was riding back to Camelot in the speed of lightning..

Merlin sighed. _He had saved Arthur_.

The vision of Arthur began disappearing into nothingness. And once again, everything went black.

◇◇◇

Merlin’s eyes fluttered open. There was an incredibly foul taste in his mouth. Was this death? Was he in the afterlife?

No.

 _No_ , it wasn’t the afterlife, because right beside him were Gwen and Gaius, hugging each other.

 _Ew_!!!

“That’s disgusting!”, Merlin said, sitting up. Gaius and Gwen whipped around. “You should be ashamed of yourself! You’re old enough to be her grandfather!”  
“ _Merlin_!”, Gaius exclaimed, beaming. “You’re alive!”  
“No, I’m a ghost come back to haunt you.”, Merlin said, grinning, but before he could finish the sentence, Gwen’s lips were on his.

His first kiss. His first kiss was with a _girl!_ It felt extremely weird and revolting.  
It also felt so _wrong_. And not just because he was kissing a girl. . .

_It felt wrong, because he was kissing the wrong person._

Gwen pulled back, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry! I’m just— I thought you were dead, and—”

"Oh my god!”, Merlin said, cutting her off, as realization hit him like a boulder.

“ _I’m in love with Arthur!”_

Gwen’s jaw dropped. “You _what??_ " 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	5. Reasons and Temptations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin has 'the talk' with Gwen and Gaius. Something unexpected happens, and he has a completely different kind of talk with Arthur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are gonna love this one! 😋😉❤❤❤

Well, this was awkward. . .  
This was _very_ awkward! Coming out to the girl who had a crush on him, and his almost foster-father- _slash_ -grandfather, was more awkward for Merlin than the time he came out to his mother.  
Gaius and Gwen sat in front of him in complete silence, just staring at him.  
After an eternity of awkward silence, Gwen said, “So um. . . _You’re_. . .”,  
"Gay, yeah.”, Merlin finished for her. “I’m really sorry, Gwen.”  
“ _Oh, no_! It’s obviously not your fault. I should have noticed. . .”, she smiled supportively.

Merlin turned to Gaius. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about this earlier.”  
Gaius raised his eyebrows. “Oh, I knew all along.”, he said.  
“ _What_? You— You knew that I’m gay?”, Merlin asked, taken aback.  
"You were not being very discreet, my boy. It was written all over your face.”

_Why did everyone keep saying that??_

Gwen leaned forward, grinning. “So you like Arthur, huh?”  
This is why you gotta love Gwen. She just got rejected, and yet here she was, teasing Merlin about his crush.

Merlin smiled. “I guess, yeah. . .”  
“When are you gonna tell him?”, Gwen asked.   
Merlin’s smile faltered. “Never. He can never know.”  
Gwen shook her head, confused. “Why not?”  
“Nothing can ever happen between us.”  
“Says who?”  
“You know Uther. He wouldn’t even allow his son to court a man; do you think he will allow him to marry one?”.  
“You want to _marry_ Arthur?”, Gwen asked, eyebrows raised.   
“ _No_! No. . . _I don’t know_!”, Merlin finished pathetically. The next few moments passed in silence.

Then Gaius spoke up. “He is, after all, your destiny, Merlin. I think this is how it was always meant to be. . .”  
“ _Destiny_?”, Gwen asked. “What are you talking about?”  
Merlin panicked, but managed to cook something up. “No! I mean, Gaius is talking about how it was _me_ that happened to save Arthur from the witch that day, even though there were so many others present. So maybe I was meant to become Arthur’s manservant. Isn’t that what you meant, Gaius?”  
The old man smiled. “Precisely.”  
Gwen sighed, standing up to leave. “Well then, Merlin,”, she said, smiling. “I guess we should just wait and see what _destiny_ has in store, eh?”

_What destiny had in store, was a disaster._

◇◇◇

That evening, Merlin sat in his room, thinking about his latest epiphany.

_He was in love with Arthur. Oh, God. . ._

He got up and began pacing. This changed everything! After this, every time Arthur casually wrapped an arm around his shoulder or put him in a headlock, Merlin was going to freak out. It was going to be especially difficult to hide his feelings, since Arthur had, _for some reason,_ taken to touching Merlin in the most intimate ways possible.

Suddenly, he heard voices down the hall.   
“Can I see him?”  
It was Arthur.  
“Indeed, sire.”, Gaius replied.

And before Merlin could process it, the door to his bedroom slammed open. As soon as Arthur saw Merlin intact and unscathed by the poison, he slumped against the door, closed his eyes and sighed an ‘ _Oh, thank God.”_  
“Arthur. . .”, Merlin began, wanting to thank the Prince for saving his life, but before he could go on, the blonde closed the space between them, and kissed Merlin full on the lips.

It was no chaste kiss. It was not just a peck. Arthur almost swallowed the boy. He cupped Merlin’s face and sucked on his lips. He pushed his tongue in and explored his mouth.  
Merlin’s knees must have given in, because Arthur grabbed his hips and pushed him against the wall. Merlin’s brain had stopped working. The sensation flooded through him, and he didn’t want it to stop. He just closed his eyes and let Arthur do his magic.

Finally when both of them where getting breathless, Arthur pulled back. For a moment, they just stood there, holding each other and catching there breath.  
“ _That was_. . .”, Merlin said, not knowing how to describe it. Arthur looked up at him uncertainly. “ _Sorry_.”, he said and walked out of the room as fast as he could.

Merlin stood rooted to the spot, looking at the closed door. 

_What the hell just happened?_

◇◇◇

The next morning, Merlin went to rouse the Prince.   
Arthur just carried on with his routine as if nothing had happened. Merlin waited for him to say something, but the blonde showed no sign of starting a conversation.  
When Merlin had finished dressing him, Arthur smoothed down his tunic and made his way to the door to start the day. 

“Arthur.”, Merlin called, and the blonde turned around to face him. “Are we not going to talk about it?”, Merlin asked.  
Arthur cleared his throat, and looked at Merlin. “ _About the kiss_?”  
Merlin scoffed. “ _Yes_ , Arthur! _About the kiss_.”

The Prince came and stood in front of him, and took a deep breath. “Alright. . . Look. I’m gonna tell you something, okay?”, he began nervously. “You must have noticed that I’ve been behaving a bit. . . _odd_ , lately. . .”  
“If by _odd_ , you mean frequently invading my personal space without my permission, then yeah, I noticed.”  
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Yeah, _that_. I have been doing these things to see how you react, and—”  
“You were _experimenting_ on me?”  
“ _No_! I — Well, if you put it that way, it doesn’t sound great. . . But anyway, I have been observing your reactions, and. . . stop me if I’m wrong, Merlin, but every time I touch you, you end up flushed and flustered and breathless. Then once I turn away, you’d be smiling like an idiot for the whole day. I mean, come on! That day I literally just stroked your wrist, and it had reduced you to a blushing mess—”  
“ _I was not blushing!”_  
“ _Merlin_ , will you let me finish?”  
"You asked me stop you if you were wrong.”  
“Fine, I take that back! Shut up and let me finish.”  
Merlin sighed, shaking his head. _Typical Arthur. ._ .

The blonde went on. “From what I observed, I have come to the conclusion. . .”, he inhaled nervously, “ _that you like being touched by me._ ”  
Merlin was silent. He couldn’t deny it. Nor could he admit it. “ _So_?”, he asked, trying to sound casual.  
“ _So_ ,”, Arthur said, “I have a. . . an _idea_. _A proposal_.”  
“Uh-huh?”  
“I think we should be", Arthur gave a dramatic pause, “ _friends with benefits_.”

“What? What’s that?”, Merlin asked. He had never heard of the term before.  
Arthur stuttered. “Uh. . . _Bed buddies_.”  
Merlin scrunched his brow. “You mean, we sleep in the same bed and talk about our day until we drift off—”  
“I’m talking _sex_ , Merlin!”, Arthur said.  
“Oh.”  
 _Oh_. Arthur wanted to sleep with him.

Merlin thought about how terrible of an idea this was. He couldn’t sleep with the man he loved, when said man wanted nothing to do with him, other than sex. It would mean the world to Merlin, while it meant nothing to Arthur. The Prince would probably ravish him at night, and completely forget about it during the day. Merlin didn’t want that. He wanted _more_. He wanted _Arthur. . ._ not just his body.

"No.” he said firmly.  
Arthur immediately looked deflated. “ _Oh_. . . Okay. Um, may I— May I ask why not?”

Merlin was silent. He obviously couldn’t tell the reason to Arthur.  
But the blonde was relentless. “Was I. . . Am I wrong? Do you not like it when I touch you? Does it make you uncomfortable? If that’s the case, I’m so sorry for—”  
" _No_.”, Merlin said. “ _No_ , Arthur, I _love_ it. I— I really like it.”, he said, looking at his feet.  
“Um, okay. . .”, the Prince said. “Then what’s the problem?”  
Merlin shifted his weight from one leg to another. _“I can’t tell you.”_  
"But why not, Merlin? You know you can tell me anyth—”, then he looked at Merlin, as if something finally dawned on him. “ _I know why you’re hesitant_.”, he said slowly.  
“You— you do?”, Merlin asked, panic bubbling inside him.

" _I do!_ _You’re worried that my father will find out!”_

Merlin blinked. “What? No! That’s not— _no_!”  
“You really don’t have to worry. I will ensure that he never finds out.”  
“No Arthur, that’s not the reason.”  
“Then what _is_ the reason?”  
"I can’t tell you. It’s kind of personal.”  
Arthur looked at the warlock appraisingly. “You know what _I_ think, Merlin?”, the Prince asked, beginning to walk towards him. Merlin backed up until he hit the wall. “I think you want this as much as I do, but you’re scared that my father will find out that I’m sleeping with a man, and you will lose your job. But you’re not admitting it to me, because you don’t want to speak ill of the King to his son. Am I right?", Arthur asked, smirking and placing a hand on either side of Merlin’s head, effectively caging him.

“You couldn’t be more wrong.”, Merlin said, already panicking at being trapped by the Prince. “Arthur, I _really_ do have my reasons, and they are not at all about the King.”  
Arthur, still smirking, bent down and brushed his lips against Merlin's neck. Merlin tried not to shudder. When Arthur spoke, his hot breath danced on Merlin’s sensitive skin. “Well, then let’s hope that your _reasons_ ,”, he purred, “ _are stronger than your temptations.”_

He gently bit at Merlin’s neck, and one of his hands slipped beneath the hem of the boy’s shirt. It slid along his bare torso and reached his chest. His fingers _ever so lightly_ tweaked a nipple, and Merlin had to bite down on his lip to stifle the moans.

“ _Come on, Arthur._ ”, he said, chuckling nervously. “ _You can’t seduce me into sleeping with you.”_

At that, the Prince stepped away and looked down. His smirk turned into a wide and triumphant grin. Merlin followed his gaze, and turned beet red at the large tent formed in his own pants. 

_“Oh, I dunno, Merlin._ . .”, Arthur said, still grinning and eyeing the bulge in Merlin’s trousers. _“I like my chances.”_

And just like that, Arthur left the room, leaving Merlin hard and wanting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	6. The Bet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur begins his shenanigans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite adorable. Hope you guys enjoy it. Tell me what you think in the comments ❤❤❤

A manservant can only avoid his master for so long, before he has to inexorably face him. 

That was what happened to Merlin when it was time to serve Arthur lunch. After evading the Prince the whole morning, Merlin was forced to see him again.

 **True fact:** Most days, while Merlin served Arthur food, he often stole a sausage or a drumstick or some bread, to relish in the solitude of his room. Arthur, being the oblivious idiot he is, never noticed.

 **Another True Fact:** Today, Merlin didn’t dare touch Arthur’s food.

 **Yet Another True fact:** But still somehow, today, Arthur had sensed that something was missing on his plate. Because fate never got bored of torturing Merlin.

“I think I’m missing a slice of toast.”, Arthur said. “And something tells me,”, he shot Merlin a look, “that you took it.”  
“I swear I didn’t take it.”, Merlin said honestly.   
“Come on, Merlin. I know you’re hiding it on yourself.” The prat smirked. “ _Don’t force me to disrobe you.”_

Merlin rolled his eyes, but stepped back as a safety measure all he same. “Maybe the ladies in the kitchen noticed that you are getting too fat, and decided to go a little strict on your meals.”

( **Pro tip:** Don’t call Prince Arthur fat, when you are completely at his mercy.)

“Did you just call me _fat_?”, Arthur asked, standing up and abandoning the food on the table.  
“ _No_ , I said that might be what the cook thinks.”  
“Hmm. . .”, Arthur said, walking up to the warlock. “ _Do you know what else of mine is fat_?”

Merlin buried his face in his hands. “Oh my God, Arthur, can’t we talk normally for once without you saying something inappropriate?”  
“Well, we can. . . _Or_ ,”, Arthur said thoughtfully, “ _We don’t have to talk at all.”_  
That was the last string. “Enjoy your lunch.”, Merlin said, and walked towards the door.

“Merlin.”, Arthur called. “Today I’m gonna practice sword fighting. And you’re gonna be my dueling partner.”  
“Why can’t you ask one of your knights?”   
“They’re all paired up.”  
Merlin was sure that it was a lie, but he nodded and left the room.

He waited until he had closed the door behind him, to smile at Arthur’s cheesy pick-up lines.

◇◇◇

“Ready to get your ass kicked?”, Arthur asked , as they both stood on the training field. It was just the two of them. There was no one else in the vicinity.  
“Ready to kick yours.”, Merlin replied.

It was not bad. Merlin fought well. Arthur obviously fought better. For six rounds, ( _Score_ : _Arthur-4, Merlin-2_ ) it was just proper training. That’s when Arthur decided to spice it up a little.

“Alright, Merlin. This will be the last round.” Then he grinned. “Why don’t we have a bet?”  
Merlin sighed. He was not going to like this, was he?  
“A bet?”, he asked.  
"Yeah. Let’s see who wins this final round. The rules are the same: The first one to end up on the ground unarmed, loses.”  
“ _And_?”, Merlin asked, knowing all to well that this was no innocent bet.  
“ _And_ , if I win. . .”, Arthur said, smirking, _“I get a kiss_.”

Merlin laughed. “Yeah, _no_!”  
“Just on the cheek, Merlin.”  
“Still no.”, Merlin said, stubbornly.  
“Okay, how about a little incentive?”, Arthur asked, leaning on his sword. “If _you_ win. . .”  
“Let me guess, _you_ kiss _me_?”, Merlin asked, rolling his eyes.  
“You can take the rest of the day off.”, Arthur said.

Now this was a tempting offer. But the odds were not really in Merlin’s favor. “Still no, Arthur.”  
“Oh, come on, Merlin. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You have done pretty well today. You stand a fair chance of winning. Give it a go.”

Merlin thought about it. Arthur had a point. After all, what was there to lose? ( _Except one stupid kiss. . .)_  
“Alright. But you must stick to your word.”  
Arthur smiled. “When have I not?”

And so the sword fight started. It took exactly 26 seconds for Merlin to land on his back, dropping his sword. The warlock closed his eyes and wondered where he had gone wrong in life, that had caused him to land in this mess.

Arthur chuckled, and came to stand next to Merlin, towering over the boy. “Seriously, Merlin . . . We both know that you weren’t even _trying_.” He cocked his head to the side and grinned. “ _Maybe you want to kiss me more than you want that most-awaited day off.”_  
“Prat.”, Merlin muttered under his breath, and took the hand that Arthur offered. The Prince pulled him up with way more force than necessary, and Merlin ended up flush against his chest. Arthur took the chance and wrapped one hand around his waist, and tapped the forefinger of the other on his own cheek. “So, about my reward. . .”

Merlin looked down, trying to hide his smile at how lovable Arthur looked, tapping on his cheek and having his eyebrows raised in anticipation.  
“Close your eyes.”, Merlin said, still looking down.  
“Why, so you could run away?”  
“No, so I could be spared of the embarrassment.”  
Arthur laughed. “Alright.” The Prince closed his eyes and stuck out his cheek.

To be honest, it wasn’t at all difficult to kiss the Dollophead, when he was standing right there, looking _so adorable_.   
Merlin placed a quick peck on Arthur’s cheek, and immediately looked down again, his own cheeks going red.

Arthur opened his eyes, smiling like an idiot. “Your lips are _unbelievably_ soft.”  
Merlin screwed his eyes shut. “ _Stop_.”  
“I want to feel them on mine.”  
“ _Oh my God, stop!”_  
“I want to feel them wrapped around my—”  
“Okay, I’m out.”, Merlin said, pushing off the arm around his waist and walking away from the Prince as fast as he could.

“Merlin?”, Arthur called, and the warlock turned to look at him.  
The Prince smiled fondly, and said, “ _You look adorable when you blush.”_

Merlin groaned. “For the thousandth time, Arthur! _I. Don’t. Blush!_ ”, Merlin said, blushing furiously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	7. Keep Going

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin gives Arthur a shave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what to say, guys. . . This one is a roller coaster! 😋😂❤

Merlin placed Arthur’s dinner in front of him. The Prince and Morgana were talking about something, but the warlock was too busy dreaming about his own dinner to listen.  
“Merlin didn’t even last 30 seconds.”, Arthur said, smirking, and Merlin snapped to attention on hearing his name.   
Morgana looked at him, grinning. “Well, he doesn’t stand a chance against you. I’m sure you completely wore him out. I’m surprised that he's even able to walk.”  
Merlin broke into a cold sweat. _What the hell were they talking about?_ Because whatever it was, it sounded way too inappropriate to be spoken in front of the King, over dinner.  
“What are you both talking about? I wasn’t paying attention.”, Uther asked, cutting into his steak. Merlin almost swooned in fear.   
“Oh, just about today’s training, Father. Merlin here, put up a good fight. That is, before he ended up on the ground in a few seconds.”  
‘ _Oh, thank god_.’, Merlin thought, sighing in relief. Arthur saw that, and winked at him when his family wasn’t looking. Merlin turned away from the prat.

Throughout dinner, Arthur kept doing unbelievably stupid things like brushing his fingers with Merlin’s every time he refilled the Prince’s goblet, and dropping spoons and forks and napkins between his legs and calling Merlin to pick them up. 

But after that night, Arthur was a good boy for a whole week. He was speaking to Merlin as usual without slipping in innuendoes or touching him where his hands had no right to be. Merlin was starting to think that the Prince had changed his mind about the whole ‘ _seduction game_ ’.

_Boy, was he wrong!_

◇◇◇

“Merlin.”, Arthur said one night, when Merlin was leaving his room. “Tomorrow, I need you to give me a shave.”  
Merlin had never shaved Arthur since he became his manservant. But having done it to remove his own stubble many times, he guessed it wouldn’t be too hard to do it for the Prince.

“Yeah, okay. Good night", Merlin said.

“Good night, Merlin.”

_Little did Merlin know that Arthur was planning on getting more than just a shave._

◇◇◇

“I’m ready.”, Arthur said, and Merlin brought the soap, the brush, the blade, a cloth and a mug of water to the table next to Arthur’s chair.   
“Alright. . .”, Merlin said dipping the cloth in the water and wiping Arthur’s face. Then he wet the brush and rubbed it on the soap to produce some lather.   
He stood in front of Arthur and placed his left hand on his shoulder for support. But when he reached to dab the foam on Arthur’s face, the blonde stopped him by grabbing his wrist. “ _Woah_ , wait a second.”, he said. “Are you going to be standing the whole time? Your legs are gonna hurt like hell by the end of it.”  
“Well, maybe. But if I sit on a stool across from you, it will be difficult to reach your face.”  
“Who said anything about a stool?”, Arthur said, grinning. _“Sit on my lap.”_  
Merlin raised his eyebrows. “You want me to shave you. . . _while sitting on your lap?”_

“That’s right!”

Merlin scoffed. “ _Not happening_ , Arthur.”

“ _Yes_ happening, Merlin. I can’t have you shirking your duties because your legs hurt.”

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”, Merlin said, but Arthur just pulled him closer by the wrist that he held in his hand. “ _Shhh_. . . Just sit on my lap.”

Merlin sighed. This was not going to end well. . .

He hesitantly took a step forward, and straddled Arthur’s lap and placed a hand on his shoulder. As soon as he had sat down, Arthur placed both his hands on Merlin’s hips. Merlin almost yelped.

“Arthur. . . Your hands.”, he said, trying to push them off.

“What? _You want them somewhere else?_ ”, the prat smirked.

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“Oh, I dunno. How about. . . _off_?” 

Arthur grinned. " _No_. We don’t want you falling off.”

“Why the hell will I fall off? I’m seated well.”

“Just start shaving, honey.”

Merlin almost _did_ fall off when Arthur said that.

“Don’t call me that ever again.”

“How about ‘cupcake'?”

“ _God_ , I’m not even going to answer that.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes'.”

Merlin shook his head in exasperation and dabbed the brush gently along Arthur’s chin. The Prince’s hands were not idle, and kept squeezing and sliding along Merlin’s sides. Merlin tried his best not to squirm.   
He was almost finished with applying the foam, when he felt something jab him in the groin. He looked down and his eyes went wide. He almost jumped out of Arthur’s lap, but the blonde pulled him down by the waist, saying, “ _Keep. Going._ ”

“But you’re. . .”, Merlin said, gesturing towards Arthur’s lap.

“ _Keep. Going_.”, the Prince purred.

Merlin bit his lip and continued dabbing, with Arthur’s hardness pressing against him.

He set down the brush, and reached for the blade. That’s when Arthur did something _even_ more ridiculous. He actually began _rocking_ against Merlin.

" _Arthur_!”, Merlin squeaked, grabbing both his shoulders for balance. 

The blonde closed his eyes and gripped Merlin’s waist. “ _Keep going_.”

Merlin tried to be quiet, but when Arthur jerked a little too roughly, the boy couldn’t keep it in anymore. He moaned a little too loudly, and immediately clasped a hand over his mouth. 

“ _You make the sweetest noises, Cupcake_.”, Arthur said, his voice heavy and eyes closed.

“Shut up.”, Merlin said breathlessly, turning red.

“ _Keep going._ ”

Merlin’s brain had probably melted by then. But he vaguely fumbled for the blade on the table and brought it to Arthur’s cheek. He tried as hard as he could not to cut Arthur accidentally. The constant rocking didn’t make it easy.  
“ _Arthur_. . .”, Merlin breathed out. “I’m holding a blade to your throat. If you have any desire to continue living, you should stop dry-humping me.” When Arthur just moaned in response, Merlin groaned and said, “God, Arthur, _stop_! Stay still! I don’t wanna be going to jail for killing the Prince.”

“ _You won’t be going anywhere tonight.”,_ Arthur purred, and Merlin shivered with anticipation at the promise. 

Merlin tried to focus and continued scraping the foam off Arthur’s cheek carefully with the blade. He was biting his lip so hard it hurt.  
He reached the last bit of foam on Arthur’s chin. He was almost done, but he was also so close to release. He didn’t want to make Arthur stop. But he had to.  
He scraped off the last trace of foam, and jumped out of Arthur’s lap, prying off the Prince’s hands from his waist. Arthur froze and looked at him, taken aback. 

“It’s done.”, Merlin said. “Wash your face, and you’re all set.”

“Yeah, alright. . . Thanks.”, Arthur muttered. “Do you, um. . . If you want, we can go on. _Do you want to?_ ”, he asked eagerly. 

Oh, Merlin wanted that more than anything. But one can’t have everything that one wants.

“I’m sorry.”, Merlin said, eyes downcast. 

“Oh. Okay. . .”, Arthur said, looking completely let-down. “Thanks for the shave.”

“Yeah. . .”, Merlin mumbled and headed for the door.

“ _Merlin_.”, Arthur called, and the warlock turned around. Arthur was smiling. “Make sure you hide _that_ on your way out.”, he said, pointing at the bulge in Merlin’s pant. “We don’t want people getting suspicious.”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “ _Ha-Ha_! Very funny.”

Arthur smiled. “ _I'll_ s _ee you around, Cupcake.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	8. You Can Look, But You Can't Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur catches Merlin carrying a dress, and gets the wrong idea (and an urge to see Merlin wear it).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has a lot of sexual tension, I guess😋  
> Enjoy, and tell me what you think in the comments!❤❤❤

“And then I have to collect some herbs for Gaius.”, Merlin was telling Gwen as they walked down the corridor together, chatting about random things.  
“Hey, did I tell you about the shaving incident?”, Merlin asked eagerly.

“Only a hundred times, everyday, for the past ten days after it happened.”, Gwen said, grinning.

“Oops. . .”, Merlin said, smiling goofily. “But he has been obedient since then. He hasn’t even called me ‘Cupcake’ since that day.”  
“You sound disappointed.”, Gwen said, shooting him a glance.

“Oh, trust me, I’m not.”, Merlin lied.

Gwen sighed. “Lots to do today. I promised my father I would help him with work, but Morgana had asked me to get this dress laundered.”, Gwen said, holding up the maroon dress-gown she held in her hands. "So I have to take it down to the washer man.”

“Oh, I can do that for you if you want.”, Merlin offered.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah! Like I told you, I’m not really busy today.”

Gwen smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Merlin.”

“What are friends for?”, Merlin asked, smiling, and took the dress from her. They waved and headed off in opposite directions.

◇◇◇

Merlin was humming a tune and clutching the dress gingerly, as he walked down the corridor. An unpleasant surprise greeted him. 

“Merlin.”, Arthur intercepted him. “I need you to drop by later and polish my armor, and—” He noticed the dress. “ _What are you doing?”_

Merlin looked down at the dress, and replied, “Running an errand for Gwen.”

“For Gwen?”, Arthur asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah.”

“But that’s Morgana's dress.”

“And who is Morgana’s maid?”, Merlin asked condescendingly.

“You know what this looks like to me, Merlin?”, Arthur asked, smirking.

“No, I don’t know, and I don’t wanna—”

“It looks like you’re taking it for yourself.”

Merlin blinked. “Why would I take it for myself?”, he asked.

“You tell me.”, the prat asked, grinning.  
Merlin opened and closed his mouth like a fish. Did Arthur really think he was into women’s clothes?

"It's — it's not for me! _Obviously_!" 

"Relax, Merlin. What a man does in his spare time is _completely_ up to him."

"No! No, you've got the wrong idea!", Merlin said frantically.

“You know what, Cupcake?”, Arthur said, and Merlin blushed on hearing the pet name after so long. “ _Come to my chambers_.”

Merlin’s tummy did a flip. “Ca— Can I come after giving this to the wash—”

“ _Now_.”, Arthur said, and began walking towards his room.

Merlin sighed. “ _Excellent_. . .”, he muttered, following the prat.

◇◇◇

As soon as Merlin closed the door behind him, Arthur said, “Wear it.”

“ _WHAT?_ ”, Merlin asked, pretty sure he had misheard the Prince.

"I want to see you wearing it.”, Arthur replied.

“Oh my God, Arthur! What’s gotten into you? Has your twisted little mind got even more twisted? I didn’t know that’s even possible.”, Merlin prated.

"Wear it.”, Arthur repeated bluntly.  


Merlin considered his plight. Arthur was asking him to wear Morgana's dress; one that was Gwen’s responsibility at the moment. If Merlin humoured Arthur’s whim and wore the dress, there is no guarantee that Arthur won’t end up ripping it in lust, or worse, _jizzing_ on it. Merlin almost laughed imagining how Morgana would react to that. 

That’s when he got an idea. This way, he would fulfill Arthur’s bizarre impulse, while keeping the dress safe from the Prince’s naughty hands.   


Merlin grinned. “Alright, Arthur. But on one condition.”

“Sure. What is it?”

“You can look, but you can't touch.”

Arthur looked like a child who had been put on time-out. “But that’s. . . That’s downright cruel.”, he said pathetically.

"Take it, or leave it.”, Merlin said firmly, grinning. He was enjoying this way too much. 

Arthur scowled for one minute straight, and then finally spat, “ _Fine_.”

Now Merlin’s confidence began slipping. He thought Arthur definitely wouldn’t agree to the deal. 

“Um. . . Okay. Then I’ll. . . Change behind the dressing screen.”, he said uncertainly. “ _And don’t you dare peep.”_

“Oh, come on, Merlin.”, Arthur whined, “That’s unfair. You get to see me naked everyday.”

“Unwillingly.”, Merlin added.

“Oh, _please_!", the Prince scoffed. “I’ve caught you staring _way_ too many times to believe that.”

“Arthur? _Just. Don’t. Peep_.”, Merlin said.

Arthur raised his hands in surrender. But his cheeky grin told Merlin that he was not going to get his privacy.

“I don’t believe that for a second.”, Merin said and removed his neckerchief.

“Wait. So you’re gonna change in front of me?”, Arthur asked, eyes twinkling.

“ _No_.”, Merlin said. “I’m gonna make sure your eyes are closed.”

Having said that, he stepped behind the Prince, and covered his eyes with the cloth .

“Merlin.”, Arthur said, “You’re blindfolding me with your neckerchief.”

“Yes.”

“That is _so_ hot.”

“Shut up.”

After making sure that the knot was tied securely, Merlin stepped behind the dressing screen. After a moment of hesitation, he stripped.

Before he removed his briefs, Merlin asked, “Is your blindfold still on?”

“I’m a good boy, Merlin.”, Arthur replied.

“I not even gonna _start_ explaining why that’s not true.” Merlin pulled down the last piece of his clothing, and grabbed the dress with utmost delicacy. He felt a little perverted for wearing Morgana's clothes without her permission, (thanks to Arthur) but he reasoned with himself that it was going to be laundered afterwards anyway.

He slipped on the dress-gown, feeling more and more embarrassed by the second. He couldn’t believe that he was doing this. Finally he zipped up and stepped out from behind the screen. 

“Alright, you can open your eyes.”, he said in a small voice.

Arthur almost tore the blindfold off, and his jaw dropped.

“Merlin. . .”, he said, walking close, but Merlin held up a chiding finger.

“No touching.”

Arthur sighed and stepped back. "Colour suits you." His eyes raked all over the warlock. “You look. . .”, he said, looking mesmerised, “ _beautiful_.” 

Merlin was sure he was as red as the dress now. “Um. . . Thanks, I guess. . .”

“How does the velvet feel against your skin?”, Arthur asked, eyeing Merlin’s waist.

“I. . . I dunno. . . _Soft_?”

The Prince licked his lips. “I bet your skin’s softer.”

Merlin made sure not to meet the blonde’s piercing gaze, lest he combust on the spot.

“Merlin. . .”, Arthur called.

“Hmm?”

“If I’m only allowed to look, don’t you think it’s only fair that I get to see all of you?”

Merlin’s head snapped up. “No way! I’m not stripping in front of you.”

“Come on, Cupcake! I won’t even be touching you. What could go wrong?”

When it comes to Arthur Pendragon, everything could go wrong. But Merlin knew that he’d keep his word.

“ _Fine_. . .”, he said, and loosend the bodice.

“Do it slowly.”, Arthur said. God, this idiot had too many demands.

Merlin pulled at the lace excruciatingly slow. Once it was undone, he reached for the zip, but Arthur stopped him, saying, “ _Let me_.”

Merlin stalled, and wondered if he should risk getting into close proximity with such a turned-on Arthur, but eventually he gave in and spun around.

The Prince stepped behind the warlock, and touched the zipper. His breath brushed against Merlin’s neck, and he shivered. 

Without touching Merlin’s skin, Arthur smoothly unzipped the dress. The boy turned around and looked at his feet, as he pulled down one sleeve, and then the other. He pulled down the dress upto his waist and held it there, still a little hesitant. 

But then he looked up at Arthur’s parted lips and spellbound eyes. The Prince looked like he had seen magic. Merlin gave a small smile, a bit more confident than before.

When he let go of the dress, it dropped to the floor. The cold air caressed his skin. Arthur blatantly stared. His eyes swept down Merlin's neck, his chest, his torso. . . Merlin felt too shy to look at Arthur as his eyes dropped further down, so he shifted his gaze to the floor again.

For a few whole minutes, Arthur kept looking and looking and looking, not saying a word. Merlin didn’t know what to do, so he kept fidgeting.

Finally, when he felt like his skin was set on fire by Arthur’s hungry eyes, he took a deep breath and said, “Okay, time’s up!”

“Wait, what?” Arthur asked, awoken from his reverie.  
“Time’s up.”, Merlin said, rushing behind the dressing screen and beginning to pull on his clothes. 

“I— I didn’t know we were timing it.”, Arthur said.

“Well, it wouldn’t have made a difference if you knew. I mean, what would you have done? _Looked faster?_ ”, Merlin asked, laughing a little. Once he was all covered up again, he picked up the dress, and walked to the door.

“And anyway, you would’ve lost interest eventually.”

Arthur looked at him sincerely, and said, “ _I’ll never grow tired of looking at you, Merlin.”_  


Closing the door behind him, Merlin took the dress down to the launderer, smiling the whole time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	9. Just a Massage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur is tired from training and asks Merlin for a massage.  
> . . .  
> Seriously. Just a massage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is hilarious! 😂😋😋😋  
> Hope you like it. Tell me what you think in the comments! ❤❤❤

"Merlin!”, Arthur called. 

Merlin sighed. He had just finished the day's work and was planning on getting some rest. Saying goodbye to that idea, he walked towards Arthur’s chamber.

“ _MERLIN_!”

“I’m here!”, the warlock said as he entered. The Prince was shirtless and lying in bed. 

"Ah, Merlin. Today’s training was exhausting. I’m completely worn out."

“Oh?”, Merlin said, wondering why Arthur was telling him this. “So, um. . . How can I help?”

“Can you give me a massage? Preferably an oil massage. . .”

Merlin blinked. “I— I don’t know how to give a massage.”

“It’s really simple. Just get some fragrant oil and I’ll talk you through it.”

“Okay. . .”, Merlin said, turning to the door, but then he remembered what _else_ men used fragrant oil for. He looked at Arthur suspiciously. “ _Just_ a massage, Arthur. If you’re having anything else in mind, forget it.”

Arthur smiled. “ _Just a massage_.”

◇◇◇

Merlin returned with a vial of rose-scented oil. He placed it on the bedside table and asked, “Alright, what now?”  
Arthur rolled to lie on his front, his cheek resting on the pillow, and said, “Sit on my back.”

Merlin was already doubting the innocence of Arthur’s intention. “Your back will hurt. I’m heavier than I look.”

“And I’m stronger than you think.”

Merlin sighed and decided it’s best to comply. He gently climbed onto the bed and straddled the blonde’s waist. 

“You’re light as a flower.”, Arthur said.

Merlin blushed, and asked, “What now?”

“Rub the oil on your hands.” 

Merlin did as he was told. The scent of rose filled the room.

“Smells good.”, Arthur mumbled, and Merlin hummed in response. “Next?”

“Let’s start with my shoulders.”, the Prince said. "Place one hand on each shoulder, and just knead lightly.”

Merlin nervously grabbed Arthur’s shoulders and tenderly pressed and squeezed. “Like that?”

“ _Just like that._ ”

Merlin moved his hands with rhythm. He continued kneading, waiting for further instructions.

"Now apply pressure with your thumb and move around. Rub in circles.”

Merlin pressed with his thumb and glided around on Arthur’s back, rubbing slowly. 

“God, you’re _so_ good at this for a first-timer, Merlin.”, Arthur said drowsily. Merlin tried to ignore how sensual that sounded without context. “Well, I’m just following what you say.”

Arthur hummed. When Merlin’s hands reached his neck, the blonde made a strangled noise. “ _Yes_. Yes, right there. That’s a good boy. . .” 

Merlin pressed at the spot, and Arthur moaned loudly. 

“ _Arthur!_ ”, Merlin scolded, “Someone might hear and get the wrong idea!”

“ _Don’t stop_.”

From that point onwards, everytime Merlin pressed down, Arthur made increasingly erotic noises. 

“ _Oh, Merlin_!”, he moaned. “ _Right_ _there_! _Do that again._ . .”

Merlin was getting more and more turned-on by the second. Arthur kept making dirty comments that sent heat straight down to Merlin’s . . . _sexcalibur_.

When he rubbed Arthur’s lower back, the blonde groaned and said, “ _God_ , _I’m so close, Cupcake!_ ”

Merlin immediately withdrew his hands and asked, “ _What??”_

“ _What_? I—”, Arthur stammered, “I meant. . . _so close to pain relief!”_

“ _Arthur_ , if you jizz in your pants, I’m not washing them!”

“Relax, Merlin. It takes a lot more than just a massage for me to climax.”, Arthur said, and Merlin could almost hear the smirk.

“ _Whatever_. . .”, he said, face burning red.

Merlin rubbed more oil on his hands and massaged every spot on Arthur’s back. Every time Arthur spoke, his voice sounded more and more raspy. His moans became more guttural and frequent. Merlin wondered how he had fallen in love with an idiot who had _so_ many kinks. . . First a cross-dressing kink, now a massage kink. . . What next?  
Soon Arthur began to sound too strained to be normal. “Arthur, are you okay?”, Merlin asked, genuinely concerned. 

“ _Keep going._ ”, the blonde croaked, gripping the sheets extremely tight. 

Merlin nodded and touched Arthur’s hips for the first time, and pressed. The reaction was immediate.

“ _MERLIN!_ ”, Arthur cried, and his entire body shook so violently, that Merlin was almost thrown off.

“ _Arthur_! What happened?”, Merlin asked, alarmed.  
The Prince's face went red. He breathlessly muttered, “ _Oh no. ._ .”

Merlin’s eyes went wide. “ _No, you didn’t!_ ”

Arthur swallowed and tried to keep his voice neutral, “Merlin, I’m gonna need you to leave. . .”

“ _Oh my God, Arthur!_ ”, Merlin said, horrified, but also grinning wide from amusement. “You dirty, _dirty_ prat!”

The Prince was beet red from embarrassment. “ _Shut up,_ Merlin. And get out. “ 

“ _Arthur Pendragon, everyone_! The Prince who came because of a massage!”, Merlin said, holding back his laughter to complete the sentence.

Arthur groaned and buried his face in the pillow. “Get out, Merlin!”, he said, voice muffled. “It feels uncomfortably clammy down there.”

“I _really_ don’t want the details.”, Merlin said, grinning and climbing off the Prince. 

“Good luck cleaning the mess you made.”, he said.

“Merlin? _Leave_!”

“ _Good night, Dollophead._ ”, the warlock said, and headed home, laughing all the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	10. Because of the Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin, Arthur and the Knights of Camelot are forced to spend the night in a cave during a hunting trip, because of a storm. It's pretty cold. Arthur gets an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is both cute and funny! 😋🥰 Hope you enjoy! Tell me what you think in the comments! ❤❤❤

Merlin knew it was a bad idea to go on a hunting trip when the evening sky looked so dark and murky. Now he, Arthur and the knights were stuck in a cave, waiting for the storm raging outside to pass.

“Looks like we will have to spend the night here. . .”, Arthur announced. “The storm will have passed by morning. Now everyone get some rest.”  


Merlin sighed and found a cozy corner. 

He lied down on the hard stone floor, shivering in the biting cold. Soon, all the knights had tucked in and the cave was quiet except for the sound of pattering rain and the occasional thunder. Merlin curled in on himself and tried to drift off. That’s when he heard a whisper.

“ _Merlin_.”

It was Arthur. Merlin sighed. 

“ _What?_ ”, he whispered back, feeling silly, like a child whispering at night, trying not to get caught.

“I’m cold.”, the Prince said.

“We all are, Arthur.”, Merlin replied.

“Well yeah, but the difference is we both can do something about it.”

Merlin scoffed. “No.”

“Come on! It will be beneficial for us both!”

“I’m _not_ having sex with you in a dark cave during a storm in the midst of all the knights.”, Merlin said as quietly as he could.

“ _Sex_? Who said anything about sex? I was talking about cuddling."

Merlin had to clasp a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. _Why did Arthur have to always be such a dollophead?_

“ _Fine_. But you must be a good boy.”

“Am I not always?”

“ _No_.”, Merlin said, bluntly. “But seriously, Arthur, no fondling.”

“Done.”

“Alright. . . Now, where are you?”, Merlin asked, and immediately a hand grabbed him and pulled him towards its owner. 

Merlin crawled close to Arthur and lied down with his back pressed against the Prince’s chest. Arthur quickly wrapped an arm around Merlin’s waist and pulled him even closer. 

“ _Hey!_ ”, Merlin whispered, swatting at Arthur’s hand. “No hands!”

“I’m no expert, Merlin, but I think the definition of cuddling involves tangled arms and legs.”

“God, the things I have to put up with. . .”, Merlin muttered, and tried not to think about the butterflies in his stomach at having Arthur spooning him.

“What will the knights think when they see us like this in the morning?”, Merlin asked.

“I’ll wake up before they do.”, Arthur replied.

“Okay.”, Merlin said, and relaxed against Arthur’s body.

That’s when the Prince’s hand began exploring. It rubbed over Merlin’s clothed tummy and made it’s way upward, until it was caressing Merlin’s chest.

“ _Arthur!_ ”, Merlin chided.

“Can I ask you something, Merlin?”, Arthur asked.

“What?”, Merlin whispered, already feeling nervous.

_“Why is your heart racing?”_

Oh, God. . .

“It— It’s because of the cold.”, Merlin stuttered, thanking the darkness for hiding his blush.

“Is it because of the cold. . .”, Arthur whispered into his ear, “ _Or is it because of me?_ ”

“Because of the cold.”, Merlin lied again, hoping that he didn’t answer too quickly.

“Are you sure?”

Before Merlin could lie again, Arthur took the boy’s earlobe into his mouth, and Merlin’s reply came out as a whimper.

Arthur licked and sucked and bit, and Merlin was getting really worried that the knights would wake up.

“ _Arthur_. . .”, he breathed, “ _They’ll hear us_.”

And just like that Arthur let go of his ear, and said, “No, they won’t, because I’m going to keep my word and be a good boy.”

Merlin sighed, half relieved and half disappointed.

He fell asleep, with Arthur’s warmth surrounding him.

◇◇◇

_Arthur was biting Merlin’s neck, pinning him against the wall. “Then let’s hope that your reasons. . . are stronger than your temptations.”_

_Arthur tapped his cheek, holding Merlin close in the training field. “So about my reward. . .”_

_Arthur was rocking against Merlin, who was sitting on his lap, in his chambers. “You won’t be going anywhere tonight.”_

_Arthur looked at Merlin in the velvet dress-grown, mesmerized. “You look. . . beautiful.”_

_Arthur was moaning and writhing under Merlin in bed. “God, I’m so close, Cupcake!”_

_“Merlin. . .”, Arthur purred seductively, “Merlin. . .”_

_“Merlin.”_

“Merlin!”

“Hmm. . .”, Merlin mumbled, snuggling closer to Arthur. “Five more minutes.”

“Merlin, we kind of have a situation here.”

“What?”, Merlin muttered as he opened his sleepy eyes. He was on top of the Prince, hugging him tight, legs tangled and chin resting on Arthur’s chest. “What situation?”

Arthur cleared his throat awkwardly and looked around. Merlin turned to see what the Prince was looking at. His eyes went wide.

Standing around them in a circle, were the knights of Camelot, looking extremely amused and entertained. Half of them were smirking, and the other half smiling fondly.

“I knew this was going to happen!”, Merlin whispered to Arthur, cheeks flaming red. “Get off me, you prat!”

“Yeah, you’re on top of me, actually. . .”

“Oh.”

Merlin quickly scrambled off the Prince, and Arthur followed.

“It’s not what you all are thinking” Merlin said to he knights, with raised hands and innocent eyes, but then he noticed that they were all looking down. When he followed their gaze, he almost exploded in embarrassment, _when he saw the tent in his pants_. 

“It’s okay, Merlin.”, Sir Kay said, smirking. “No judgement.”

“Yeah. We all kind of heard you both last night.”, Leon added, grinning. “You weren’t being very quiet. . .”

“I— It’s not— We were just—“, Merlin stuttered, mortified.

“ _Just_. . .”, Arthur interrupted, looking at the knights. “Don’t tell Father.”

“Yes, sire.”, the knights said in unison, still grinning wide. And then they began filing out of the cave, leaving Arthur and Merlin alone. The Prince turned to the warlock.

“Seriously, Merlin? Can’t you even cuddle me without moaning my name and getting a hard-on?”

“I was _moaning??_ ”, Merlin asked in horror.

Arthur smirked. “Ask the knights if you don’t believe me.”

“ _Oh, God._ . .”, Merlin groaned, burying his face in his hands. 

Now all the knights thought that he and Arthur were sleeping together.

And Merlin had nothing to say in his defence, because they had literally caught them ‘ _sleeping together’!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	11. Some Wiggling Fingers and Two Giggling Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin finds out that the Prince is ticklish, but had never had anyone to tickle him before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, hands down, my favorite chapter!❤❤❤

“Rise and shine, Clotpole.”, Merlin chirped, entering Arthur’s chambers and setting his breakfast on the table. But the Prince was already awake, shirtless and pacing the room.

“Merlin. I have to attend a council meeting in fifteen minutes. Do you expect me to dress myself? And what the hell is ' _clot-pole_ '?”

“My new nickname for you. And of course not! Why would I expect the impossible?”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “It’s not _impossible_ for me to dress myself. I just prefer getting it done for me.”

“Oh, really? Then why don’t you. . .”, Merlin fetched Arthur’s blue cotton shirt, “put _this_ on yourself?”

“Merlin, I really don’t have time for this.”

“Just try, Dollophead!”

Arthur groaned and snatched the shirt from Merlin’s hand. He spent at least ten seconds deciding which is the front side, and then raised it above his head. He looked incredibly comical trying to insert one hand in, and then the other. When he pulled it down over his head, what Merlin had been expecting from the beginning happened.

“ _It’s stuck!_ ”, the Prince said, voice muffled by the cloth. “Why the hell is it too tight? It was fine a few days back.”

Merlin laughed as Arthur thrashed around, his hands stuck above his head and face hidden under the shirt. 

“Maybe its because you’re getting fat.”, Merlin said cheekily, and walked up to the flustered Prince. “I can see that you’re gaining weight _here_. . . and _here_. . .”, he said, squeezing Arthur’s sides.

Immediately, the Prince jumped, yelping. “ _Merlin_! Stop that! I’m getting late for the meeting!”

Merlin smiled, and gently untangled the mess that Arthur had made of the shirt. “I’m just kidding. You merely forgot to undo the buttons.”

“This shirt has buttons?”

“All your shirts have buttons, Arthur.”, Merlin said, pulling down the shirt and smoothing it down. “Now have your breakfast before it gets cold.”

◇◇◇

That night, Arthur walked into his chambers when Merlin was arranging the laundered clothes into the cupboard. 

“Cupcake. Take this off.”, the Prince said, tugging at his own shirt, and using the pet name absent-mindedly. 

Merlin walked towards the blonde, removed the belt and pulled off the shirt. And then he remembered something from that morning. Before the Prince turned away, the warlock grabbed his sides and squeezed. 

“ _MERLIN_!”, Arthur shrieked, his face splitting into a wide, toothy grin. “Stop doing that!”

“Why are you jumping every time I grab your sides?”, Merlin asked, amused.

“I dunno, Merlin.”, Arthur said, walking to the bed and flopping onto it. “Maybe I’m ticklish there or something. . .”

“What do you mean, ‘ _maybe_ '?”, Merlin asked, walking to the bed and sitting on the edge, like it was the most casual thing to do. “Haven’t you ever been tickled before?”

“Not really, no.”, Arthur replied, snuggling into a comfortable position.

“Not even as a kid? Didn’t your father tickle you when you were being a prat?”, Merlin asked, grinning. “ _Which was probably always. . .”_

“Merlin,”, Arthur said, “does my father look like he has ever tickled _anyone_ in his life?”

“Fair enough. . .", Merlin agreed, "Well, I think everyone deserves to be tickled by someone they care about. . . At least once. It’s a sweet display of affection, and after all, it makes you laugh.”

“Well, then it's too bad my childhood is long gone.”, Arthur muttered, looking a little sadly into the distance.

It was moments like these that made Merlin’s heart ache for all the little things in life that Arthur had missed because of being the King's son. 

“Who said that only children must be tickled?”, Merlin asked, grinning.

“What do you mean?”, Arthur asked distractedly. 

Without warning, Merlin jumped onto the blonde, straddling him. _“I mean_ , it’s time I taught you a lesson for being the prat that you are.”

“ _Merlin_ —”, Arthur said, eyes wide, not knowing what to expect. He looked nervous, and Merlin thought it was adorable that the idiot didn't know that tickling was harmless.

Knowing that Arthur’s too strong to be pinned down, Merlin directly launched his attack. His hands grabbed Arthur’s sides and began scribbling and pinching and squeezing. Arthur’s head immediately tipped back, and the room was filled with his majestic laughter.  
Merlin grinned and tickled the Prince’s ribs next, and Arthur began going hysteric. He looked so happy and carefree, all the stress of the day disappearing from his face.

“ _Mer— Merlin! Oh, my God!”_ , he managed between giggles. He weakly swatted at the warlock’s hands, but that was not going to stop Merlin. 

When Merlin dug into Arthur’s tummy, the Prince howled with laughter. “ _SHIT! Oh, my— Holy—_ ”, he babbled and began writhing below the boy. 

Merlin started laughing himself at Arthur’s state of utter incoherence. When he pushed his fingers into Arthur’s armpits, it drove the Prince crazy.

“ _MERLIN_! Merlin, there’s— _Oh, my God_ — there’s— _there’s_ — there’s something— _something I have_ — to tell you!”, he blurted between peels of laughter.

Merlin stilled his hands, and Arthur took several deep breaths, closing his eyes and still grinning wide. 

“What?”, Merlin asked, smiling. “Oh my God, Arthur, don’t tell me you realized that you have a tickling kink!”

“No.”, Arthur said, still a little breathless. He just lay there panting for a minute before catching his breath and saying, “There’s something on your shirt.”

Merlin sat up straight and looked down his front. “What?”, he asked, confused. 

In a fraction of a second, the Prince flipped them both over, straddled Merlin and pinned both his wrists above his head with one hand, with skill that only a knight could possess. The warlock squirmed in surprise. Arthur grinned down at him mischievously.

“ _Oops! It was my hand.”_

With that, Arthur began tickling Merlin mercilessly all over. The boy thrashed, but there wasn’t much he could do with Arthur easily pinning him to the bed.

“Okay! _Okay, sorry! ARTHUR!_ ”, Merlin squealed, but the Prince was relentless. He scribbled all over Merlin’s clothed torso. When he dug into his exposed armpits, Merlin screamed. “ _ARTHUR_!”, he shrieked, “ _Alright_ , _seriously_ , _stop_ , _you Clotpole_!”

Arthur stopped his attack and Merlin closed his eyes in relief. He hadn’t laughed like that in. . . ages.

“ _Good lord.”_ , he mumbled, still grinning. “You are the world’s biggest prat.”

When Merlin opened his eyes, Arthur was not smiling anymore. He looked tense. His eyebrows were knitted together, and his face looked strained , like there was a battle going on in his head. He looked down at Merlin as if he was trying trying really hard to reach a decision about something.

Apparently he had finally made the decision, because suddenly he set his jaw in determination. With certainty and confidence, he bent down and pressed his lips to Merlin’s.

Unlike their first kiss, this was not hungry and rough. This one was sweet and slow. Arthur didn’t suck or bite or push in his tongue. He just kissed Merlin. He just kissed him, one hand gently holding down his wrists, and the other caressing his face.

Merlin was melting down into the bed. He closed his eyes and kissed Arthur back. There was no fondling or groping. Just kissing.

Neither of them were moaning, because this was not sensual in any way. It was just a tender kiss, that left no space for lust.

There was something in this kiss that was not there in the previous one. Or maybe it had been there, but Merlin hadn’t noticed due to the rush of emotions. . . There was something special in this kiss, but Merlin couldn’t put his finger on it.

Arthur pulled away from Merlin’s lips, and kissed his chin. Then he kissed a cheek, and then the other. He kissed Merlin's forehead, and then literally placed a kiss on the tip of his nose. 

Merlin smiled. He didn’t ask Arthur to stop or let him go, because he knew that the blonde wasn’t trying to take advantage of him.

Arthur’s lips just remained on Merlin’s nose for a moment. A moment that Merlin wished would last forever. 

And then Arthur pulled back, hovering over the boy. He closed his eyes and cleared his throat. “Um. . .”, he said awkwardly, “I should. . . probably let you go. But. . .”

“But what?”, Merlin asked.

“You know. . .”, Arthur said opening his eyes and grinning, _“Revenge is a dish best served cold.”_

And without another word, the Prince began tickling him again. 

Maybe Arthur didn’t know that he was doing it, but Merlin didn’t fail to notice the look in Arthur’s eyes. The soft gaze, that he only wore around Merlin. The smile on his lips, wide and happy and from his heart, on seeing Merlin laughing. 

_Arthur was looking at Merlin, like he was the best thing to have happened to the Prince_.

◇◇◇

Later that night, as Merlin lay in his own bed, staring at the ceiling and far from falling asleep, he began wondering. Maybe there was a possibility —just a _teeny-tiny_ possibility. . . _that Arthur wanted more than Merlin's body, after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	12. Poetry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sir Leon walks in on something he was never meant to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has a little bit of 'poetry'. This applies both literally and metaphorically 😂😂😂

“God, I can’t believe I don’t have anything good enough to wear to the feast.”, Merlin said, sitting cross-legged on his bed, to Gwen who was looking into his cupboard to find a nice outfit. “I mean, it’s Arthur’s birthday. I must wear something at least a little classy.”

“I’m sure we will find something.”, Gwen muttered.  
  
After a few minutes, Gwen closed the cupboard with a triumphant grin. “I think this one is perfect.”  
She held a red velvet shirt with a golden embroidery of the Pendragon crest in the center, and a black velvet pant with a few designs in gold.

“Oh! That’s the outfit I wore to the ceremony of signing the treaty the other day. Arthur had given it to me, actually. I totally forgot. . .”

“Well, now that we’ve found it, problem solved, right?”, Gwen asked cheerfully.

“I dunno, Gwen. . . It has the Pendragon Crest on it.”

“So?”

“It might. . .”, Merlin looked at his feet, “ _It might be a turn-on for Arthur.”_

Gwen laughed. “What makes you think so?”

“Well, you know. . . ‘cause he’s a Pendragon, and I’m wearing the Pendragon seal. . . His filthy little mind will lead him to believe that he _owns_ me or something.”

Gwen was looking at Merlin with utmost amusement.

Merlin sighed. “I’m overthinking, right?”

“Totally!”

“Alright then. I’ll wear this.”

Gwen smiled. “Oh, and what are you giving him for his birthday?”

“Um, it's going to sound a little cheesy. . . So promise me you won’t laugh.”

“You know I won’t.”  
“I thought for a long time, and couldn’t come up with anything better. . . _So I wrote him a poem_.”, Merlin said, blushing. 

“Aww!!!”, Gwen exclaimed, “Can I— Can I read it?”

“Yeah, sure.”, Merlin fetched the parchment and gave it to Gwen. She read the contents aloud.

“ _Dear Arthur,_

_I’ve known you for only a little while,_   
_But long enough to know,_   
_That you’re caring and kind and generous,_   
_Even though you don’t let it show._

_You’re the bravest man I’ve seen,_   
_And one day, when you ascend the throne,_   
_You’re going to be the greatest king_   
_Camelot has ever known._

_Happy Birthday, Dollophead!_

_Yours truly,_   
_Merlin.”_

Gwen looked up, lips parted in surprise. “Merlin. . . _This is beautiful_! Arthur is going to love it.”

Merlin smiled. “Hope so. . .”

◇◇◇

It was almost time.

Merlin folded the parchment in two and wrote the word ‘ _Arthur_ ’ on top.

“ _Blóstmá_.”, he whispered, and a rose appeared out of thin air. He wondered for a moment if giving Arthur a rose was making it too obvious that he loved him, but then he brushed it off, thinking that Arthur is too dumb to notice.

Merlin took the parchment to Arthur’s chamber. He knew that the Prince would be in the hall with everyone, celebrating. So he entered without knocking, and placed the folded note on the table and kept the rose on top. Then he left the room to join the festivity.

The hall was vibrating with life, laughter and music. The King had invited many, _many_ guests. Merlin stood in a corner and scanned the tables for Arthur. And then he saw him.

Clad in specially designed red and gold velvet, Arthur looked even more handsome than usual. Merlin smiled dreamily at the blonde.

Arthur must have felt someone’s gaze on him even in this crowded hall, because he turned in Merlin’s direction and his eyes found the warlock. 

There was an immediate change in his reaction. The Prince's previously bored and distracted eyes snapped into attention. His lips parted, and he looked Merlin up and down, mesmerized. Merlin knew that wearing this outfit was a bad idea. Even with so many people sitting between them, he could see the lust clouding Arthur’s eyes.

Arthur stood up. He bent down and whispered something to Morgana, and she nodded. He left the table and walked towards a door that Merlin knew led to an empty corridor. Before disappearing behind it, Arthur gave Merlin a look. A look that clearly said, “ _Follow me_.”

Feeling adrenaline rush through his veins, Merlin headed for the door.

The warlock entered and closed the door behind him, and before he could even turn around to face the corridor, he was slammed onto the nearest wall.

Arthur pinned both his wrists on either side of his head, and pressed his body against Merlin’s. The boy could feel the Prince’s hardness pressing against him. Their faces were inches apart. The blonde was breathing heavily.

“Give me one good reason”, Arthur said hotly, “why I shouldn’t tie you up and ravish you _right here._ ”

“Because that’s rape.”, Merlin said, trying to ignore the pleasure surging through him on imagining being tied up and taken by Arthur.

“It’s not rape if both parties are willing, but one of them is hesitating in fear of getting caught by the other’s father.”

Merlin opened his mouth to deny it, but Arthur pressed against him harder, and Merlin moaned from the friction of Arthur’s hardness rubbing against his own through their clothes. 

Arthur smirked, and said, “How about a little birthday present at least?”

Merlin swallowed and tried to form words. “I— I actually _do_ have something for you. You will find it in your chambers when you walk in tonight.”

“Is it going to be you, naked and waiting for me in my bed?”

“Not really, Arthur.”

“Hmm, disappointed.”

With that, Arthur lowered his head and latched his lips to the vulnerable spot where Merlin's jaw met his neck. The Prince licked and sucked and bit. It was too distracting for Merlin to focus on suppressing his noises. So he gave in and moaned and whimpered loudly. He tilted his head to give Arthur more access.

“ _You dirty little thing. You want this, don’t you? You like this.”,_ Arthur purred against Merlin’s neck. “ _You want me. You want to be taken by me. Just admit it.”_

Merlin just made a strangled sound. He couldn’t think straight anymore, let alone talk.

Arthur went back to his assault on Merlin’s neck. Merlin closed his eyes and began moaning and writhing once again, when he heard the hinges of the door creak.

Merlin’s eyes snapped open, and went wide on seeing the man at the door.

Standing at the entrance was Sir Leon, looking like he had just seen the most disturbing thing in his life. _He probably had._

Arthur was as oblivious as ever, still pinning Merlin’s wrists to the wall, pressing their bodies together and sucking on his neck, making extremely obscene noises.

“ _Arthur_!”, Merlin choked out. The Prince just moaned.

Merlin kicked him in the shins and Arthur finally let go of the boy, and backed off.

“ _Ow_! Hey, you can’t kick the birthday boy, Mer—“, he began indignantly, but then he noticed Merlin looking somewhere else, and followed his gaze. That shut him up.

Sir Leon cleared his throat. “Arthur. Merlin.”, he greeted awkwardly.

“Leon.”, they both replied in unison, their embarrassment shown in their voice.

“Um. . . I didn’t mean to. . .”, Leon began, but Arthur cut him off.

“Oh, _no!_ It’s not what you think! We are. . . Merlin, tell Leon what we are doing.”

Something told Merlin that saying “ _Prince Arthur here, was sexually harassing me.”,_ was not the answer Arthur was expecting. So instead, Merlin told the first thing that came to his mind, which just so happened to be his gift for the Prince.

“ _I’m teaching his some poetry.”_

Leon raised his eyebrows. “ _Poetry…?_ ”

Arthur tried to wear a neutral expression and said, “I. . . _love_. . . poetry.”

Merlin grinned and waved a hand at Arthur. “ _See_? I was as surprised as you! He can’t get enough of it.”

“ _Yeah, I could see that._ . .”, Leon muttered and then cleared his throat. “Well, I wish I could leave you to your . . . _poetry_ , my lord, but everyone is waiting for you, to start the feast.”

“Of course!”, Arthur said, taking the opportunity to rush out of there. Merlin gave Leon a very awkward smile as he passed him, and walked into the hall.

◇◇◇

Throughout the feast, Arthur kept eyeing Merlin and eating his food in the most seductive way possible. Biting into the meat while letting the juice run down his chin, and sucking in the cherry with a ‘pop’ sound, all while looking at Merlin. The warlock was growing more and more worried that someone would notice that their Prince was behaving unreasonably indecent.

Gwen walked up to Arthur and curtseyed. “Would you like anything else, my lord?”, she asked humbly.

“ _I want Cupcake_.”, Arthur said loudly, looking Merlin dead in the eye.

Gwen got the reference and blushed, glancing at Merlin and grinning.

But Arthur wasn’t done. _“I want to suck off the frosting, and bite into the base.”_

Merlin was blushing furiously by now.  
Morgana gave Arthur a disgusted look. “I’m sure Gwen didn’t really need that extremely obscene description of how you’re going to eat the cupcake. . .”, she said, cringing.

“Here you go, my lord.”, Gwen said, still smiling, holding forward a tray of cupcakes.

And for the next few minutes, Merlin had to endure looking at Arthur eat the cupcakes exactly the way he had described.

◇◇◇

Right after the feast had got over, Merlin slipped out of the hall and evaded Arthur. He went home and to bed.

He tried to fall asleep, but the feeling of having Arthur’s lips on his neck, his hands pinning his wrists to the wall and his mouth whispering dirty things into his ear kept coming back, making it hard to drift off.

He heard a knock on his bedroom door. 

“Come in, Gaius.”, he said loudly, looking blankly at the ceiling.

But it was not Gaius who walked in.

“Arthur!”, Merlin said, jumping out of bed. ‘ _God, he must have been really desperate if he has come all the way to my room. . .’,_ Merlin thought, ‘ _Well, guess I'm getting deflowered tonight.’_

So when Arthur walked up to him and pulled him into a warm hug, he was surprised. 

The Prince just held him there for a moment, before saying, “I read your letter.”  
Merlin smiled, and tentatively raised his arms to hug Arthur back.

“That. . .”, Arthur said softly, “was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. I’m glad to have you in my life, Merlin.” He sniffled a little. “ _Thank you._ ”

‘ _I'm glad to have you in my life._ ’ That was enough for Merlin. A small sign that Merlin meant something to Arthur.

They stood there hugging for a while, until Arthur finally dropped his hands to his sides. Merlin did the same and stepped back. 

The blonde looked at him for a moment, and then turned to leave.

“Wait.”, Merlin said, and the Prince turned around.

Merlin stepped forward and kissed his cheek, pulling Arthur close by his shirt collar. He pulled back, and said, “ _Happy Birthday._ ”

Arthur looked _so_ touched. He looked at Merlin with that soft gaze. The one which made Merlin want to drown in the blue of his eyes.

“ _Thank you, Cupcake_.”, he said, voice breaking. “ _Good night.”_

Merlin smiled. “ _Good night, Arthur.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . .


	13. His New 'Friend', Lancelot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Merlin brings Lancelot home, Arthur is not very pleased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess you could call this the 'climax' of the story. Enjoy❤❤❤

The screeching cry of the beast sounded so close behind him, that Merlin didn’t think he would make it. He ran at the speed of lightning, but the strange creature was hot on his heels.

Merlin tripped and fell on the forest floor. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the death blow.   
But it never came.

What came instead, was the noise of someone grunting and the chink of a sword cutting through the air. Merlin opened his eyes to see a man brandishing his sword at the beast. 

“ _RUN_!”, he yelled at Merlin.

The warlock didn’t need to be told twice.

Merlin rushed out of the forest with the stranger behind him, both of them fleeing from the ferocious animal. They both jumped behind a large log of wood and hid until the creature emerged, and having found its prey gone, spread its wings and flew up into he sky.

Merlin tried to calm down and slow his breathing, wondering what the hell that thing was.

“It’s gone.”, he told the stranger. “You saved my life. . .”, he said gratefully, and then remembered that he hadn’t introduced himself, “I’m Merlin.”

“Lancelot.”, the stranger said. He was pale and his eyes were closing. The warlock looked down to where the man was clutching his side. Merlin gasped.

Lancelot was bleeding.

◇◇◇

“The wound itself is superficial.”, Gaius said. “The fever will pass. He should be fine by morning.”

And so Merlin let Lancelot rest in his bed that night and slept on the floor.

◇◇◇

The next morning, Lancelot was much better. He stood next to the window, looking out at the view of Camelot. 

“Ever since I was a child, I’ve dreamed of coming here.”, Lancelot said. “It is my life’s ambition to serve as a knight of Camelot.”

Then he turned to look at Merlin. “I know what you’re thinking. I expect too much. After all, who am I? They have their pick of the best and bravest in the land—”

“Lancelot.”, Merlin said, cutting him off, “ _They are going to love you.”_

And he meant it. But in order to face Arthur in his test to become a knight, Lancelot would need clothes with the Pendragon seal, and chainmail. So Merlin took him to he best seamstress in town: Guinevere.

“This is very kind of you, uh. . .” Lancelot began.

“Gwen", Gwen said, smiling and looking up at him from where she crouched on the floor, measuring Lancelot's inseam.

“Gwen.”, he smiled back.

As Gwen gracefully took the measurements, the two shared a light conversation about Camelot and how it needed more worthy knights. Merlin sat on a table nearby and watched. He couldn’t say for sure, but he felt a connection between Gwen and Lance. Maybe it was because of the way they looked at each other, or the way Lancelot shuddered every time Gwen’s fingers brushed his skin, or the way Gwen blushed when he looked into her eyes.

Merlin smiled. He was definitely going to tease Gwen about her new crush when he got the chance. But jokes apart, he was happy for his friend. Lancelot was a gem of a person; that was quite obvious even though Merlin had known him for only a short time. They would be perfect for each other!

“It was nice to meet you, Lancelot.”, Gwen said, offering her hand. Lance kissed it.

And then Lancelot left with Merlin to face the test that would decide his future.

◇◇◇

The Prince was in the field, training his knights. Merlin walked up to him, with Lancelot close by his side.   
Arthur looked up and saw Merlin. He gave him his soft, warm smile. But then he saw Lance walking right beside him, and the smile faltered. 

“Arthur. This is Lancelot.”, Merlin said, and then turned to smile at Lance. “He saved my life today.”

Arthur drew his lips in a tight line and looked at Lancelot. “Did he, now?”

“Yes! And guess what? It has been his life-long dream to become a knight of Camelot. So I was thinking, why not bring him to you, and you know, give him a chance.”

Arthur looked at the man appraisingly. “Very well. . .”, he drawled. “I have a few people waiting already. Join the line, and you will soon have your chance.”

And so Merlin and Lancelot went to wait from a distance. Arthur announced the rules to the first participant. If he lasted in combat with the Prince for more than a minute, he would be accepted as a knight. And so the minute glass was inverted, and the combat began.

It took exactly six seconds for the man to get knocked out and collapse on the floor. If Lance wanted to back out right now, Merlin wouldn’t blame him. Arthur’s fighting skills seemed to be extra vicious today. But Lancelot remained resolute. Soon Gwen, who was returning to Morgana's chambers, stopped and joined Merlin and Lance to watch.  


After defeating each participant, Arthur shot Merlin a glance. Then his eyes flitted to Lancelot. Before he turned back to the field, Merlin could have sworn he saw Arthur scowling. 

Finally after seven participants, it was Lancelot’s turn. Lance walked up to Arthur at the centre of the training field.

As soon as they were facing each other, Arthur smacked him right across the face. The poor lad fell to the ground from the impact.

The Prince shook his head. “Sluggish reactions.”, he said, sounding way more angrier than he had sounded with the other failed participants. “In the battlefield, you would be dead by now.” He turned to call the next participant. “Come back when you are ready.”

Lancelot quickly stood up. “I’m ready now, sire.”

Arthur turned around, eyebrows raised and giving his typical _Do-you-dare-question-me_ look. “You are, are you?”

Lance nodded.

“Fine. You can start off by cleaning out the stables.”, Arthur said, earning sniggers from the bystanders.

Merlin didn’t understand. Why was Arthur doing this?

“Merlin.”, Arthur called. “I want you in my chambers, _now_.”

◇◇◇

Merlin stomped all the way to the prat's chambers, after reassuring Lance that this was not the end off his dream. The warlock’s face felt hot from the anger he was feeling. Why would Arthur do such a thing, even after Merlin had told him that Lance had saved his life.

He entered the room, and closed the door behind him. He had hardly turned around, when he was slammed against the closed door and had his wrists pinned together high above his head.

A pair of lips came crashing down on his. Unlike the first two times Arthur had kissed Merlin, this was not fueled by lust or affection. This kiss was burning with rage. Anger. Frustration. And something else. Was it. . . _possessiveness_?

Arthur was kissing him so roughly that Merlin couldn’t handle it. 

“Ar— Arthur.”, he said trying to turn away. “ _Too much.”_

But Arthur kept kissing him with the same force and Merlin was beginning to get a little scared. There are times Merlin had been annoyed by Arthur’s constant advances on him, but never once before had he been _scared_.

Arthur’s lips moved down to Merlin’s neck. He sucked so hard, that the boy screwed his eyes shut. “ _Arthur!_ ”, he whimpered, squirming and trying to break free of Arthur’s iron-grip on his wrist.

Finally, Arthur drew back his head and looked at Merlin’s neck. He ran his fingers over the spot that he had been sucking. It stung.

“Arthur. . .”, Merlin said in a trembling voice. “Did you— _Did you just give me a hickey?”_

Arthur looked into his eyes, and Merlin saw what was undoubtedly _hurt_. The blonde leaned closer and growled, “ _Now that will show your new ‘friend’, Lancelot, exactly whom you belong to.”_

Merlin blinked. “Lancelot? Arthur, is that what this is about? _Are you jealous??”_

Arthur scoffed. “ _Please_ , Merlin. Don’t speak as if you weren’t looking at him with that look in your eyes. Like he was your _hero_. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? You kept gazing at him, and then smiled at Guinevere. You think I don’t know what that look means?”

“Arthur, I looked at Lance and then smiled at Gwen because—”

“Lance, huh? Is that what you call him when you two are alone?”

“ _Because_ ,”, Merlin went on irritably, ignoring Arthur’s ridiculous question, “Gwen and Lance like each other.”

Apparently Arthur was not listening, because he just continued raving. “You met him today, Merlin! In one day, has he become more important to you than I am?”, Arthur was yelling now, and Merlin shrunk back against the door, but that didn't stop the Prince. “I can’t believe you right now. . .”, Arthur said, eyes glistening with tears. He blinked them back before they could spill out.

“Arthur. . .”, Merlin said, now seriously concerned. “What’s the matter?”, he asked softly.

Arthur just bit his lip and shook his head, a tear running down his cheek.

Merlin’s heart ached to see Arthur like this. “Why are you so upset about it? Even if I am romantically involved with Lancelot, _which I am most certainly not,_ why are _you_ getting so worked up?”

Arthur closed his eyes, as if he was on the verge of breaking down. Just like the other day, it looked like there was a battle going on in his head. 

“Arthur. . .”, Merlin said softly, “Why do you care so much—”

“ _BECAUSE I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU!”_ , Arthur yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Just one more chapter and the epilogue are remaining! Keep reading!)
> 
> To be continued. . .


	14. Finally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Arthur talk about their feelings for each other. (FINALLY.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter guys! ❤❤❤

_“You . . . what?”_ , Merlin asked weakly. No. He must have misheard the Prince. It wasn’t possible. 

Arthur sighed. “I’m sorry for pouncing on you like that. . . And for giving you a—”

 _“You’re in love with me?”,_ Merlin asked incredulously.  


The blonde just looked at him for a moment, his face unfathomable, his thoughts inscrutable. Then slowly but firmly, he said, “ _Yes_ , Merlin. _I’m in love with you.”_

Merlin’s head was spinning. _Arthur was in love with him._ It sounded too good to be true. The boy was afraid that if he believed it and said it back, the Prince would burst out laughing and say that it was a prank. Merlin didn’t know if his heart could take that.

“Arthur, if you’re joking—”

“ _Merlin_. When I yelled at your face a minute ago, ”, Arthur said seriously. “did I look like I was joking?” He went and sat down on the bed heavily, burying his face in his hands.

Merlin stood rooted to the spot in front of the door. “ _Since when?”_ , he asked in a small voice.

“I dunno. . .”, Arthur said, looking up at Merlin. “I felt something from the beginning. The more I got to know you, the more I realized that it was love." He sighed. "Everyone in my life either wanted to please me, kill me or be me. Those who wished my father ill always saw me as a target. Everyone in this kingdom wanted to be on my good side; so every time I did something immoral, which was _always_ , they never told me that it was wrong. I grew up in the midst of lying subjects and bootlicking servants. _And then I met you._ ”, Arthur gave a small smile, “You were the only one who pointed out my mistakes. You were honest with me. The way you spoke to me. . . Your playful taunts and jibes and your silly nicknames. . . That was all new for me. _You made me feel things that no one else ever could._ At one point, it was so obvious that I was head-over-heels for you, that I was getting worried that you’d find out.  
“So I went about it all wrong. It was so immature of me to ask you to. . . to _force_ you to sleep with me. But I did it because I knew that I couldn’t be with you in public, _so I wanted to be with you at least when no one was looking._ But that only made me more confused, Merlin. You showed every sign that you are willing, but you still refused each time. I didn’t know if you wanted me or not.”

Merlin’s heart was beating so loudly that it was drowning out Arthur’s voice. “I didn’t agree to be friends with benefits,”, Merlin said, “ _because I wanted to be more than just friends_. But I don’t understand, Arthur . . . Why didn’t you say anything?”, Merlin asked, walking to the bed and sitting down next to the blonde.

Arthur waited a beat before saying, “It felt unfair to make you wait.”

Merlin raised his eyebrows. “Make me wait?”

The Prince was silent for a moment, and then said, “You know my father, Merlin.”

The warlock nodded.

“He would never allow it. If I am to marry you, it can only happen when I’m King.”

Merlin felt a rush of emotion at how Arthur so casually mentioned that he wanted to marry him, like it was a thought that crossed his mind every day.

“And even thought that day is imminent, none of us know when it’s going to arrive. It might take another ten years for me to ascend the throne, for all we know.   
“You’re still young. You have a future. It felt unfair to ask you to throw it away and wait for me. _You’re lovable, Merlin._ I knew it wouldn’t be long before someone else saw how special you are like I did. I kept telling myself that you deserve to be with that someone and live the life that you deserve. _With someone like Lancelot. . .”_

“ _Arthur_.”, Merlin interrupted, “You need to know three things. One: Lance is straight. Two: He likes Gwen. Three: I’M IN LOVE WITH _YOU_ , YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!”

Arthur’s reaction to the confession was the same as Merlin’s: Disbelief. “ _You— You are?”_

“I am and have always been and will always be.”

Arthur's eyes filled up once more, but he composed himself, took a deep breath and said, “I always thought you deserve to be with someone who gave you the life you deserve. But when I saw you with Lancelot today, _it tore my heart apart_. I realized that I love you far too much to let you go. I can’t imagine a life without you. So I’m sorry if what I’m asking of you is unfair,”, Arthur said, looking into Merlin’s eyes, “ _but will you wait for me, Merlin?”_

“ _Arthur. . ."_ , Merlin said, placing a hand on the Prince’s cheek, _“I would wait a thousand years for you.”_

The Prince looked like he was going to burst into tears. But instead, the corner of his lips quirked up, and he asked, “ _Can I kiss you, Cupcake?”_

Merlin smiled. “i thought you'd never ask."

And this time when their lips joined, Merlin _finally_ figured out what had been hiding in the last three kisses. What had previously been concealed by lust, passion or anger, was now blatantly seen and felt as their lips moved in sync. 

When they broke apart, Arthur stroked Merlin’s cheek. “However. . .”, the Prince said, smiling, “Even though I never confessed to your face, I did keep dropping hints. That day when I said I would never grow tired of looking at you, I wasn’t even being subtle. The other night, when I asked you whether your heart was racing because of the cold or because of me, I was really hoping that you’d choose the latter. And don’t even get me _started_ on how I kept hoping that someday you will realize that people don’t just go around calling _everyone_ 'Cupcake'.”

Merlin laughed. “Well, I’m sorry if I didn’t notice with your hands constantly molesting me.”

“Sorry about that.”, Arthur said softly.

“If it helps, I secretly loved every second.”, Merlin said, blushing.

“Oh, trust me, it wasn’t a secret.”, Arthur said, chuckling, “But on a more serious note, Merlin, I won’t be pestering you anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we can make love when you’re ready.”

_Make love_. Arthur didn’t say shag, or screw or have sex. He said _make love_. _And that was the only sign Merlin had been waiting for all along._

The warlock smiled. “Now I know that the man I love loves me back. If I’m not ready now, _I never will be.”_

“Are you sure?”, Arthur asked seriously, eyes genuine and expression soft.

Merlin stood up and climbed to the centre of the bed. He lay down, his head propped on an elbow. Grinning, he asked, “Does that answer your question?”

Arthur smiled, crawled closer and kneeled between Merlin’s legs. 

He grabbed the hem of his own shirt and pulled it above his head, revealing his muscled abs. Merlin stared, as if he didn't see the Prince shirtless three times a day.

“Merlin. . .”, Arthur called, his voice muffled. Merlin looked up to see the Prince’s arms bent above his head, tangled in the shirt, and his face hidden behind the cloth. “ _It’s stuck.”_

Merlin couldn’t help laughing. “You really _are_ a complete Dollophead, aren’t you, Arthur?”

“Shut up, Merlin.”, came the muffled reply, and the boy could almost hear the smile in Arthur’s voice. 

Merlin sat up and gently pulled off the shirt from Arthur’s arms and threw it somewhere on the floor. The Prince hastily reached for his belt, but Merlin stopped him with a hand on his wrist. “ _Let me_.”

The warlock undid the blonde’s belt and dropped it above the shirt. He pulled down his breeches and Arthur wiggled out of them. Merlin threw it down onto the heap. He slowly grabbed the hem of Arthur’s briefs and looked into the Prince’s eyes. Arthur gave a small nod, smiling. Merlin pulled them down and tossed them off, leaving the Prince naked, in all his glory.

“Your turn.”, Arthur said, smirking. Merlin removed his overcoat and threw it down. He untied his neckerchief and then pulled off his shirt. When he reached his belt, his hands were slow, but confident. He shimmied out of his pants and then his briefs, and added them to the clothes on the floor.

As soon as his face turned back to Arthur, the Prince grabbed him and kissed him full on the mouth, causing Merlin to fall back on the bed and take the blonde with him. Arthur had one hand on Merlin’s cheek and the other in his hair, his fingers weaving through the strands. It brought back memories of the times when Arthur ruffled Merlin’s hair, letting his fingers linger a little longer than necessary. This Dollophead had been in love with him the whole time. Every time he touched Merlin, he must have felt butterflies in his stomach just the way Merlin did when he was touched by the Prince. Merlin smiled into the kiss.

Arthur sat up and looked down at Merlin. His eyes travelled from the boy’s face to his chest to his hips to further down below. 

“You’re _so_ beautiful, Merlin. . .”, Arthur said in awe. “Everything about you is so. . . _mesmerizing_. Every bump of your bones, every dip in your skin, the hollow of your hips. . .”

Merlin felt his face and neck grow hot from Arthur’s gaze and his words. The Prince looked up and grinned, “And of course, your blushing cheeks.”

 _“I don’t blush.”,_ Merlin said, cheeks crimson red.

Arthur smiled down at him fondly. “ _Whatever you say, Cupcake.”_

Merlin blushed harder.

Arthur gingerly placed his hands on Merlin’s wrists, and slowly glided them up his arms. He reached his shoulders and slid them down Merlin’s chest. The boy shivered when the Prince’s fingers brushed his nipples. Arthur’s hands reached his stomach. The blonde rested his hands on Merlin’s hipbones. He looked down at him, his eyes twinkling.

“I know it’s your first time. I will take it extremely slow and be gentle, okay?”

Merlin smiled, looking up at the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. _“I know you will.”_

◇◇◇

“ _Oh my God, oh my God, Oh my God,”_ , Merlin chanted, gripping the pillow under his head, as Arthur thrust into him, and wanked him off at the same time.

Arthur had started off very slow just as he had promised, and if Merlin was being completely honest, it _did_ initially hurt and feel uneasy down there. But as Arthur picked up a rhythm, Merlin felt his arousal growing rapidly, overpowering any pain and discomfort. When Arthur showed no signs of speeding up, Merlin had said something like ‘ _Faster, faster, faster!’_

He vaguely heard Arthur saying something like _‘Who would have known that you'd be so bossy in bed?_ ’, but Merlin was too high with pleasure to reply.

Finally Arthur heeded and picked up the pace, and Merlin began moaning and swearing loudly and shamelessly. Having Arthur inside him and having the blonde jerk him off at the same time was driving Merlin crazy.

“ _God, Cupcake!”_ , Arthur said, voice heavy, “ _You feel just like I had imagined.”_

Merlin said something completely unintelligible in response.

And then Arthur hit a spot that made Merlin scream. The Prince began hitting it again and again, and Merlin was _so_ close to release. When Arthur came inside him, it pushed him over the edge. He saw stars when he came with Arthur’s name on his lips.

Merlin closed his eyes, panting. That was the _best_ feeling he had ever experienced in his entire life.

“Merlin. . .”, Arthur said, his voice sounding distant. 

Merlin smiled, “Is sex always supposed to be this amazing,”, he asked, eyes still closed, “ _or is it just you?”_

“Merlin! _”,_ Arthur said, and the panic in his voice made Merlin open his eyes. He gasped.

Everything in the room was floating high above the ground, including the bed. The stars that Merlin had seen during his release, were actual orbs of blinding light that were floating around the room. There was a steady thrum resounding throughout the entire space. The room was alive with Merlin’s magic.

In that second, Merlin realized that there were both pros and cons of having your virginity taken by Arthur Pendragon.

 **Pros** :  
1\. He is a God in bed.  
2\. He will make sure it hurts the least.  
3\. You will have the best first sex you could ever ask for.

 **Cons** :  
1\. He will get you off so good that your explosive orgasm will accidentally set off your magical instincts and the whole room will be glowing and vibrating with the effects.  
2\. Arthur Pendragon will find out that you have magic.

“ _Merlin!”_ , Arthur said, looking around in bewilderment, his eyes adorably wide and confused. _“What the fuck is happening?_ ”

“Ah. . . “, Merlin said, smiling goofily and bracing himself for the upcoming storm, _“About that. . .”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't miss the Epilogue!


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sometimes, if you're really honest with yourself about what you want out of life, life gives it to you."  
> —Anonymous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this beautiful journey! Thank you for sticking with me all along! ❤❤❤ Thank you for all your kudos, praises and support. Every time there was a comment in my inbox, the excitement I felt was abnormally intense.😂 I hope that all of you have enjoyed reading this story, just as much as I enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> Loads of love to all my lovely readers! 😘😘😘😘😘

**3 YEARS LATER. . .**

“Do you have any idea how _delicious_ you look like this?”, Arthur purred, straddling his husband.

“By ‘like this', do you mean ‘naked and tied to the bed’?”, Merlin asked, tugging at the ropes binding him to the headboard for emphasis.

“Well, you’re not _completely_ naked.”, the King said, cocking his head to the side and smirking, “You still have your sexy neckerchief on.”

“Yeah, because you begged me to wear it when we make love, to satisfy one of your several deviant desires.”, Merlin replied, grinning.

Arthur tsk-tsked. “Now, now. . . Is that any way to address the King, Cupcake?” His hands found Merlin’s sides and his fingers traced circles on the sensitive skin. “Maybe I should punish you. _Thoroughly_. _All night long._ ”

“Well, I’m the King, too.”, Merlin reminded the blonde. "But that’s not going to stop you from _punishing_ me, is it?”

Arthur bent down, caught the neckerchief between his teeth and pulled it lower, exposing Merlin’s pale throat. He licked a wet streak across the sorcerer’s neck. “ _Never_.”

Merlin’s breath hitched, and he tilted his head to the side, giving his husband more access. Then he noticed that said husband was wearing too many clothes.

“Take off your clothes.”, Merlin said, “It’s unfair to have me naked when—”

“ _Almost_ naked.”

“When you’re fully covered.”  


“Then why don’t you. . .”, Arthur ran a finger down Merlin’s cheek, smirking, “ _undress me with your eyes?”_

Merlin grinned. He knew exactly what Arthur meant. His gaze shifted to the blonde’s clothes, and his eyes flashed gold. The next second, the King was naked, his clothes safely stashed in the cupboard.

Arthur hummed in approval. “Have I ever told you that the way your eyes glow gold really turns me on?”

“Only a thousand times.”

The blonde chuckled, dipped down and began nuzzling his face in the crook of Merlin’s neck. He kissed the spot that he knew would make Merlin shiver. Then suddenly he lifted his head, looking as if an inspiration just struck him.

"Hey,”, he said, eyes wide and eager, “Do you think we should try using your magic for, you know. . .”, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “ _orgasm control?”_

Merlin barked out a laugh. “Your ever-increasing list of kinks never ceases to amaze me, Arthur.”

Arthur put on a serious expression. “In fact, I’m surprised this idea didn’t occur to me earlier. . .”, he mused.

Merlin shook his head, grinning. _Typical Arthur._

“You know,”, Merlin said, in a mock-serious tone, “sometimes, I wonder if we could ever be a normal couple, like Gwen and Lance, or even Gwaine and Percival. But then I remember the nights we have sex in the dungeon just because we can, and that idea gets completely obliterated from my head.”

“Oh, please!”, Arthur scoffed, “Those nights are _glorious_! And don’t even _try_ to convince me that you don’t love to be chained up when I’m eating you.”

“Hmm. . . It’s not. . . _entirely unpleasant._ ”, Merlin said, trying to hide his grin.

"Oh, yeah?”, Arthur asked and began tickling Merlin’s bare sides. Laughter rang out through the room.

The blonde bent down and kissed his husband on the lips. They just kept kissing, without a care in the world. 

When they broke apart, Merlin sighed, smiling. “Sometimes, I. . . miss the days when I used to be your manservant. The stolen kisses in the corridors. . . The way I slipped out of my chambers at night and came to yours. . . The thrill of making sure that no one found out. . . _Those were golden days_.”, he said, reminiscently. 

Arthur fiddled with Merlin’s neckerchief, and looked into the distance, apparently turning the idea over in his head. “Well. . .”, he said, finally looking down with a smile, “I guess you have to let go of some things, to be blessed with others, Merlin. In those days, I couldn’t kiss you freely in court. In those days, I couldn’t ask for your counsel during meetings that determined the future of the Kingdom. In those days, I had to live in the constant fear of Father finding out about our relationship or your magic. _In those days_ ,”, Arthur bent to kiss Merlin’s forehead. “ _I couldn’t show the world that I love you.”_

Merlin thought about it. “Yeah. . . Yeah, I guess this life is much better, after all.”

Arthur kissed both his cheeks in response, and then the tip of his nose. Then he looked into the sorcerer’s eyes and grinned. “Now why don’t we put that clever mouth of yours to another use?”

Merlin looked up at his idiot husband, whom he loved to the moon and back. He smiled. _“I don’t see why not.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh! Turns out this is not the end! Click on 'next chapter' for a lovely surprise!


	16. BONUS!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely readers! Surprise! I decided to post a bonus chapter for you all, filled with my favorite dialogues, and fanart of scenes from every chapter of 'The Many Duties of a Manservant'! I've been working on this for days on end, but it was completely worth it! I really hope you enjoy this bonus chapter! Please do tell me what you think in the comments, and don't forget to mention your favourite pictures!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready to revisit the scenes from the fic 'The Many Duties of a Manservant'! Let the journey begin!

_**In a land of myth, and a time of magic. . .** _

_**There was a warlock named Merlin, and a Prince named Arthur. When this story started, they had no idea that they would soon be falling head-over-heels in love with each other.**_

_**No, when this story began, their relationship kicked off with a rocky start...** _

_**** _

_**A VERY rocky start...** _

_**** _

_**But then Merlin became Arthur's manservant, and things got really heated, really fast...** _

_**** _

**_Actually, 'really heated' is an understatement..._ **

_**** _

_**They roasted the hell out of each other...** _

_**** _

_**Hilarity ran loose...** _

_**** _

_**Arthur was being... Well, Arthur.** _

_**** _

_**But then suddenly, the Prince began acting weird...** _

_**** _

**_Before Merlin could figure out why Arthur had suddenly taken to touching him in the most intimate ways possible..._ **

_**His life was in peril.** _

_**Of course, Arthur came to his rescue; Merlin's knight in shining armour.**_

_**When Merlin woke up from his almost-death, an epiphany came along with his conciousness.** _

_**** _

_**When the Prince saw that the warlock was awake and unharmed, his emotions took over.** _

**_And when Merlin later spoke to Arthur about the kiss, the Prince suggested something totally unexpected: A no-strings-attached relationship._ **

_**Now, poor Merlin could never sleep with the man of his dreams and then act like they were just friends when they finished their business. It would be took much for him to take.** _

_**When he told this to Arthur, the blonde misunderstood Merlin's hesitation as fear of what Arthur's father would do if he were to find out about their relationship. He insisted that no such thing would happen. Merlin still refused, and that's when the seduction game began.** _

_**** _

_**Arthur began doing increasingly inappropriate things, that really made Merlin struggle to resist temptation.** _

_**** _

_**And don't even get Merlin started on Arthur's cheesy pick-up lines...** _

_**** _

_**Arthur always said that Merlin looked cute when he blushed.** _

_**MERLIN DOES NOT BLUSH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!** _

~~_**(The truth is, he always blushed around Arthur.)** _ ~~

~~_**** _ ~~

_**Merlin learned from experience that when Arthur says, "I need you to give me a shave.", it is code for "I'm going to dry-hump you."** _

_**(And then there was Arthur's ridiculous nickname for Merlin: Cupcake.** _

_**~~Merlin loved it~~.)** _

_**** _

_**Did Merlin mention Arthur's cheesy pick-up lines?** _

_**** _

_**Merlin put up a fight. He really did.** _

_**** _

_**But then Arthur asked him to wear a dress, and shit hit the fan.** _

_**Merlin made sure the Prince couldn't sneak a look at him while he was changing. (Because Arthur totally would.)** _

_**** _

_**And then when Merlin finally put on the dress...** _

_**** _

_**Arthur became super romantic all of a sudden.** _

~~_**(Merlin melted on the spot.)** _ ~~

_**But the longer Arthur stared, the more self-conscious and shy Merlin became. So he said,** _

_**** _

_**** _

_**Okay, let's be honest. Who doesn't melt when Arthur says somethings so sweet?** _

**_Then, one fine day, Arthur asked Merlin to give him a 'massage'._ **

**__ **

**_"Just a massage."_ **

**_Or at least that's what the Prince said._ **

**_It ended up being way more erotic than that._ **

**_*shaking my head*_ **

**_And then, the other day, Arthur, Merlin and the knights were forced to spend a cold night in a cave. Immediately, Arthur made a suggestion._ **

**__ **

**_With Arthur's arms and legs tangled with his own, Merlin couldn't help feeling butterflies in his tummy._ **

_**And even though Merlin pretended that he didn't want to cuddle, the night ended up being a memorable one...** _

__

**_Hey, did you know that Arthur is really ticklish?_ **

_**** _

_**And then came Arthur's birthday...** _

_**Merlin made him a lovely gift:** _

_**** _

_**Gwen thought it was beautiful...** _

_**** _

**_But before Arthur saw Merlin's gift, he saw Merlin. And seeing him in his stunning outfit with the Pendragon Crest REALLY turned on Arthur._ **

**__ **

**_But thank God, Leon walked in before any clothes came off._ **

~~**_Damn you, leon!_ ** ~~

**_And then Arthur read Merlin's poem. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him._ **

**__ **

**_Then came Lancelot. Arthur's jelousy was kindled._ **

**_He was behaving irrationally, and Merlin didn't understand what all the fuss was about._ **

**__ **

**_Boom! There it was. The words were spoken. The confession was made._ **

**_Arthur had been hiding his feelings, because he felt that it would be unfair to make Merlin wait until he was King._ **

**_But when Arthur told Merlin about it, the reply he got touched his heart._ **

**__ **

**_Feelings declared, Merlin was finally ready. Ready for what he had been resisting all these days._ **

**__ **

**_And so, they made love._ **

~~**_Fangirls screaming_ ** ~~

**_The sex was amazing. ~~Obviously~~._ **

**__ **

**_But then something unexpected happened..._ **

**__ **

**_Only then did Merlin realize something:_ **

**__ **

**_Well, let these two idiots figure out how to go about the reveal of Merlin's magic._ **

**_Let us fast-forward to '3 YEARS LATER'..._ **

**_Merlin and Arthur, happily married, and making love at the moment..._ **

~~**_UwU_ ** ~~

**_Merlin still hasn't lost his insolent ways..._ **

**__ **

**_Arthur is still amazed by Merlin's magic..._ **

**__ **

**_And they still banter and flirt like they did during the days they used to secretly date..._ **

**__ **

**_Because if two people are meant to be, no matter what, destiny will bring them together,_ **

**_Just as it did Merlin and Arthur._ **

**__ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of these drawing and some lines from various chapters make me cringe a little from how sappy they are😋🙈, but hey! This is the love story we deserved!
> 
> It has been a wonderful journey! 😁😁😁😀Thank you all for sticking along and supporting! I hope you had a great time reading this fic!  
> Thank you so much for everything!❤❤❤❤❤
> 
> Loads of love,  
> The Girl on the Other Side

**Author's Note:**

> ♡The End!♡


End file.
